Until recently I had only heard of 1888 and the 1911 editions of the Great Controversy. Now I hear that there was also an 1858 version. Is this true?

Yes, it is. This was her first writing out of the story of the great controversy between Christ and Satan, from beginning to end.

And in my next question please don't read into it more than what you see. I don't think that the church has covered something up or gone "soft" with the latest edition of the Great Controversy. Frankly I don't have time to waste debating such things. I am curious though about this 1858 version that I heard about it. If it existed in what format did it exist? Was it published in book format or was it just in manuscripts by Ellen White? and What changes were made to make the 1888 edition?

Maybe you've answered this question many times and have written up a Question/Answer paper and if that is the case you can just point me to the right direction to read it and I'd be a happy camper :)

Thanks for making your website available it is a great ministry,

___________

I don't think we have anything online that covers this material. But here is something I wrote to someone else recently who asked about the different versions of The Great Controversy:

Mrs. White's first publication of The Great Controversy was in 1858, in what we now call Spiritual Gifts, vol. 1. This is also included in the book Early Writings. Originally, it covered 219 small pages. It started with the beginning of sin in heaven and the fall of man in Eden, then skipped down to Jesus and His times, and then briefly covered the conflict through the ages after Bible times down to the close of time. She spent the rest of her life enlarging on this story. She filled in more detail in Spiritual Gifts, vols. 3 and 4. Then in the 1870s she enlarged on the Bible portion of the story in what we now call Spirit of Prophecy, vols. 1-3. In 1884 she completed and published the fourth volume of that series. It began with the fall of Jerusalem and went all the way to the end of the conflict, just as our current book The Great Controversy does. But after going to Europe in 1885-1887, she decided to revise it with the general audience in mind and to expand the story still further. This resulted in the 1888 edition of The Great Controversy. She then returned to the beginning of the story and published Patriarchs and Prophets in 1890. The Desire of Ages followed in 1898. In 1911 she published The Acts of the Apostles and a revision of The Great Controversy. The final book in the series, Prophets and Kings, was nearly complete when she died in 1915. Her staff finished two chapters from material she had written, and it was published in 1917.

So did she revise the story? Oh, yes, several times, adding new information and, with the last stage of it, adapting it to a wider audience.

[end of quoted material]

Back in the 1960s Arthur L. White wrote a couple of articles for the Review which gave this process in more detail. The White Estate has these available in reprint form. I don't have it in electronic form, but I could send you a copy through the mail if you wish. I would just need your mailing address.

I hope this helps. Thank you for writing, and God bless!

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William Fagal, Director
Ellen G. White Estate Branch Office
Andrews University
Berrien Springs, MI 49104-1400 USA
Phone: 269 471-3209
FAX: 269 471-2646
Website: www.WhiteEstate.org or www.egwestate.andrews.edu
E-mail: egw@aubranch.egwestate.andrews.edu