Searching Google "books" in seven easy steps.
For those interested in understanding the process of HOW I discovered so many copied, and paraphrased EGW quotations (relating to the Godhead)borrowed from the writings of Protestant authors, the following is a step by step explanation. It is not complicated at all, and anyone can do the same if desired.
1) Choose an EGW quotation of particular interest. We will choose this one about the Holy Spirit for demonstration purposes.
"Christ tells them they were to fight in fellowship with all the children of light; that satanic agencies would combine their forces to extinguish the light of the life of Christ out of their ranks. But they were not left to fight the battles in their own human strength. The angelic host coming as ministers of God would be in that battle. Also there would be the eternal heavenly dignitaries--God, and Christ, and the Holy Spirit--arming them with more than mortal energy, and would advance with them to the work, and convince the world of sin." {16MR 204.4}
2) Find the most unique word phrase within the quotation to begin the search. We will choose the three word phrase "eternal heavenly dignitaries" to begin with.
3) Go to Google.com, click the "more" tab then the "Books" tab.
4) Cut and paste, (or type) your word phrase within parentheses i.e. "eternal heavenly dignitaries" and click search. You will receive fifteen results. Go to the "Anytime" menu on the left and click 19th century. Any paraphrased quotations will be within this era of time. You will see the search results as (No results found for "eternal heavenly dignitaries").
5) Modify your search using a different phrase. We will use "advance with them to the work" to begin. If the search results with more than about fifty hits, then narrow the search by adding another phrase in parenthesis, such as "convince the world of sin." Three results are found for "advance with them to the work" in the 19th century. Read each quotation to see if it is what you are looking for. In this case we find the quotation from John Harris as follows:
"For the same end he predicted and promised the mission of the Spirit. So candidly and explicitly had he described the trials of their office, that such a promise was necessary, if only for their encouragement. Having, therefore, taken them to an eminence and shown them the vast 'confederacy of evil arrayed against them, he reminded them that they were to fight in fellowship with all the children of light—that more than angels would mingle in their ranks—that the Eternal Spirit himself, arming their weakness with his might, would advance with them to the work, and convince the world of sin." (John Harris, The Great Commission, 1842)
http://books.google.com/books?pg=PA100&dq="advance+with+them+to+the+work"+"convince+the+world+of+sin"&ei=1lAFTanNKYL48Aap-rHtAg&ct=result&id=hbUPAAAAIAAJ#v=onepage&q="advance with them to the work" "convince the world of sin"&f=false
6) As you can see, part of EGW's quotation is taken word for word from Harris; yet the Harris quote says nothing about "eternal heavenly dignitaries" or the like. Go to http://ellenwhite.com/ and do a full text word search within parenthesis "advance with them to the work, and convince the world of sin." You will recieve three hits.
7) Go back to the Harris quotation and pick out another relatively unique word phrase like "more than angels" and do another search of EGW's writings. You will receive seven results, each of which are modifications of the same Harris quotation. Notice and compare the similarities and differences between the EGW and Harris quotations. The following is another example:
"...the vast confederacy of evil arrayed against them....The children of God are cooperating with all the invisible host of light. And more than angels are in their ranks; the Holy Spirit, the representative of the Captain of the Lord's host, comes down to direct the battle." [EGW, UL 82.5]
In the Harris quotation he says: ...the Eternal Spirit himself...would advance with them to the work, and convince the world of sin." Compare this with the seven EGW quotations which are modifications of the same, and you will find and interesting discovery. That's all there is to it, a matter of trial and error beginning with one or several unique phrase searches, then narrowing that search till you find something, or nothing at all.
