Testimonies for the Church

Testimonies for the Church

Testimonies for the Church

 

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Testimonies for the Church Vol 1

The nine volumes of Testimonies for the Church, aggregating 4,738 pages of text, consist of articles and letters written by Ellen G. White, containing instruction to, and pertaining to the welfare of, the Seventh-day Adventist

Testimonies for the Church Vol 1

 church. A sixteen-page pamphlet, issued in December of 1855, marked the beginning of the series of such counsels which from time to time appeared in consecutively numbered pamphlets and books. These messages naturally dealt with issues that were current, but in most cases we are today confronted by the same problems, perils, and opportunities which faced the church in earlier years. {1T 5.1}The earliest numbered Testimonies were published only about seven years after the memorable “Sabbath Conferences” of 1848, when Adventist believers in the newly revived Sabbath and sanctuary truths laid the foundations of the distinctive doctrines held by the Seventh-day Adventist denomination. During these few years the cause had advanced in a marked manner. At the beginning there were only three or four preachers, or “messengers” As they then styled themselves, all of them dependent upon what they earned by physical labor and the freewill offerings of the few believers, who also were poor in this world’s goods. These beginnings were limited in area almost entirely to the New England States. {1T 5.2} Testimonies for the Church

By 1855, the year of issuance of the first Testimony Pamphlet, there were about a score of preachers of the Sabbath and Advent message. The number of believers had grown from less than one hundred to well into the second thousand{1T 5.3}

The publishing work, begun by Elder White in the summer of 1849 at Middletown, Connecticut, had been conducted in various places under adverse circumstances. Now in 1855 it was established in its own building in Battle Creek, Michigan{1T 5.4}
The time covered by the first fourteen Testimonies now found in Volume 1 was thirteen years. We note a few of the experiences and developments covered by the messages given during this period of 1855 to 1868{1T 6.1} Testimonies for the Church
The first defection, the apostasy and opposition of some of the former brethren in the ministry, known as the Messenger party because of their publication, the Messenger of Truth, brought sorrow and perplexity. Early counsels speak of this movement and predict its speedy ending in confusion.{1T 6.2}  Testimonies for the Church
Fanatical movements, tending to attract conscientious souls because of unfounded hopes of “sanctification,” appeared in various places, notably in some of the Eastern States and in Wisconsin. In some instances these
 teachings were accompanied by manifestation of the supposed “gift of tongues.” But clear instruction was given to the church which saved the cause from such deceptions of the enemy{1T 6.3}  Testimonies for the Church
The lapse of time and the apparent delay of the second advent, with the accession to the church of many who had not been in the 1844 movement, with its deep spiritual consecration, had resulted in the loss of that first love. It was a time of speculation in lands and homesteads as the Western States were opening up to settlers, among whom were a number of believers from the crowded Eastern States. Most earnest warnings and appeals were given regarding the prevailing dangers of conformity to the world, calling the church to deeper consecration{1T 6.4}  Testimonies for the Church
In the latter part of 1856 attention was called to the “Laodicean” message of Revelation 3. Formerly this counsel was understood to apply to the Advent believers who had not followed in the advancing light of the third angel and who had organized themselves into another church, bitterly opposing the Sabbath truth. Now they saw themselves as “lukewarm” and in need of heeding the counsel of the true witness. For two years or more the believers were mightily stirred by this message, expecting that it would lead them directly into the loud cry of the third angel. The earnest messages in the Testimonies relating to this movement can better be understood with a knowledge of this background{1T 6.5}  Testimonies for the Church
It was an age of discussion and debates. Many of our ministers were challenged to discuss the Sabbath and other truths, and some were even taking the aggressive in such debates. This called for counsel from heaven. One of our prominent ministers, Moses Hull, engaged in debates with spiritualists, at first at their challenge, later at his. As a result of this daring move he was swept into the mazes of spiritualism. Then it was that Mrs. White published her “Communications to Elder Hull,” making public letters that had been written to him during past years that if heeded would have saved him from making shipwreck of his faith{1T 7.1} Testimonies for the Church
Those were the years when steps were being taken in organization. Against this move were the fears of some who had passed through the experiences of the second angel’s message, that church organization was a mark
 of “Babylon.” The issues of organization as they were met and discussed among the brethren are manifest in many of the communications given to the church through Mrs. White. And when in 1860 the publishing work was organized, and when, after much discussion and some questionings, the name Seventh-day Adventist was adopted, the move and the name itself were shown to be in harmony with the divine will{1T 7.2}Testimonies for the Church
Immediately following the final steps in church order marked by the organization of the General Conference in May, 1863, came the memorable vision in Otsego in June, when Mrs. White was given a view of the principles of what was termed “health reform,” with a revelation of the relation between obedience to the laws of health and the attainment of character necessary to fit the members of the church for translation. Closely associated with this was a reform in dressTwo years later, counsel was given that “we should have a health home of our own,” which led to the establishment of the Health Reform Institute, to which and regarding which much counsel was given. As the light was followed, this institution grew until it was one of the best of its kind in the world. During the period covered in this volume, the governing principles which led to its success were clearly laid down. The problems of the civil war were also met in this period as Seventh-day Adventists faced the necessity of defining their relationship to civil government in time of war{1T 7.3}  Testimonies for the Church
The importance of the home in the building of Christian character, and the responsibility of parents, were stressed, and many solemn messages, imparted especially for the youth, were also given emphasis in these pages{1T 8.1}
Testimonies for the Church
Besides the specific issues that were closely tied into the movements of the time, there was much counsel and admonition of a general nature on church discipline and preparation for translation. This was an important period in the development of the remnant church, and the Testimony counsels exerted a large molding influence{1T 8.2}
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Ellen G. White Publications.
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Testimonies for the Church Vol 2

While volume I of the Testimonies presents counsel having to do largely with the inception and development of the teachings, experiences, and enterprises of the newly established remnant church, volume 2 is devoted

Testimonies for the Church Vol 2

 almost entirely to the personal piety of its members. During the thirteen years paralleled by the fourteen testimony pamphlets now forming volume I, the publishing work was solidified, the church was organized, its system of finance was established, and it had launched into a great health program. When the closing article was written, literature was pouring in a steady stream from its presses at the Review and Herald publishing plant at Battle Creek, Michigan, and, near by, the newly established sanitarium was in full operation. The dark hours of the Civil War years were in the past, and for the church it was a day of opportunity. The task before it was to hold the ground gained and to enlarge its borders. Vital to the continued success of the church was the integrity of its individual members. {2T 5.1}

Early in 1868, as explained in an article now found near the close of volume I, Ellen G. White began to publish, for the benefit of the church as a whole, certain personal testimonies which up to that time had not been distributed generally. Of these personal testimonies she stated: “They all contain more or less reproof and instruction which apply to hundreds or thousands of others in similar condition. These should have the light which God has seen fit to give which meets their cases.”—Vol. I, p. 631. {2T 5.2}

Such instruction addressed personally to individual church members through the three-year period of February, 1868, to May, 1871, comprises almost the entire content of Testimonies Nos. 15-20, now embodied in this volume 2. The instruction is pointed and practical, dealing with almost every phase of personal experience and religious interests, from {2T 5.3}

Gossip, the indulgence of appetite, and the marriage relationship to misdirected zeal, avariciousness, and fanaticism{2T 6.1}
At the beginning of the period of time covered by volume 2 Elder and Mrs. White were in partial retirement in Greenville, Michigan, due to the condition of Elder White’s health. They soon resumed their activity in traveling and holding meetings with the believers in states adjacent to michigan. In November, 1868, they returned to Battle Creek to make their home there{2T 6.2}
Two months earlier, in September of 1868, a camp meeting was held in Wright, Michigan. This gathering, the first of its kind, proved such a great blessing to those who attended that the following years witnessed the establishment of camp meetings as a regular part of the program for the state conferences. Elder and Mrs. White’s presence was called for, and so it came that the summer months in succeeding years were largely spent by them in these annual gatherings. In the latter part of volume 2 may be found counsel regarding such “convocations.” {2T 6.3}
During the three-year period covered by volume 2 there was encouraging advance in the cause of present truth. The Health Institute at Battle Creek, having passed through a discouraging depression, now emerged into a period of prosperity. In the latter part of 1868 Elders J. N. Loughborough and D. T. Bourdeau lighted the torch of Seventh-day Adventism on the Pacific Coast. The same year a company of fifty Sabbathkeeping Adventists in Europe entered into correspondence with the General Conference brethren in Battle Creek, and the next year sent a representative across the ocean to plead for missionaries to be sent to them{2T 6.4}
But, with all these gains and advance moves, the adversary continued to work earnestly to lower the spirituality of church members, to cause them to love the world and its attractions, to leaven the church with the spirit of criticism, to dry up the springs of benevolence, and especially to bring {2T 6.5}
the youth into his ranks. Against these dangerous trends Mrs. White, as God’s messenger, was faithfully and earnestly delivering her messages by voice and pen, calling the members of the church to God’s standard of integrity and righteousness{2T 7.1}
On some occasions Mrs. White was given revelations pertaining to the experience of a number of individuals in one church. Having delivered these individual testimonies in meeting, she afterward wrote out the instruction and sent it to the church concerned. A number of such communications are found in volume 2{2T 7.2}
The thoughtful reader of this 711-page volume must be impressed not only with the great diversity of subjects covered, but also with the vast amount of writing devoted to such personal testimonies written during this brief time. Yet it should be noted that what was published represented only a portion of what Mrs. White wrote during this period{2T 7.3}
A few weeks before the appearance of No. 15 elder white had penned a note for the Review and Herald, asking that those to whom oral testimony had been given by Mrs. White should patiently wait until they might receive written copies. Of Mrs. White’s diligence and persistence in this work, he said: {2T 7.4}
“In this branch of her labor she has about two months’ work on hand. On her eastern tour she improved all her spare time in writing such testimonies. She even wrote many of them in meeting while others were preaching and speaking. Since her return she has injured her health and strength in confining herself too closely to this work. She usually writes from twenty to forty pages each day.”—The Review and Herald, March 3, 1868.{2T 7.5}
We may well imagine Mrs. White’s relief on the issuance of Testimony No. 15 and her anticipation of a much-needed rest, but ten days later she was again plunged into the task of delivering the many messages entrusted to her. On Friday evening, June 12, she was at battle creek speaking “To the {2T 7.6}
young generally,” and “had addressed several personally,” until nearly ten o’clock, when, as reported by Elder White: {2T 8.1}
“While speaking from the platform in front of the pulpit, in the most solemn and impressive manner, the power of God came upon her, and in an instant she fell upon the carpet in vision. Many witnessed this manifestation for the first time, with astonishment, and with perfect satisfaction that it was the work of God. The vision lasted twenty minutes.”—The Review and Herald, June 16, 1868. {2T 8.2}
By actual count 120 pages of Testimonies volume 2 are definitely stated to have been written setting forth counsel given in this vision of June 12, 1868, for the church or for individuals. Many more pages were written setting forth views given that same year at Pilot Grove, Iowa, October 2, and at Adams Center, New York, October 25{2T 8.3}
These many visions led Mrs White to write almost incessantly. In giving a report of their traveling by boat up the Mississippi river in 1870, Elder White comments: {2T 8.4}
“Mrs. White is writing. Poor woman! This almost eternal writing for this one and that one, when she should rest and enjoy the beautiful scenery and the pleasant society, seems too bad, but God blesses and sustains, and we must be reconciled.”—The Review and Herald, July 5, 1870{2T 8.5}
What a blessing these many testimonies addressed at first personally to individuals have been to the church. What church member, as he has read these earnest counsels and warnings, has not discovered that the problems, the temptations, and the privileges of Seventh-day Adventists of earlier years are his problems, temptations, and privileges today. We treasure these messages especially because Ellen G. White herself states in her introduction which opens volume 2: “There is no more direct and forcible way of presenting what the Lord has shown me.” {2T 8.6}
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Testimonies for the Church Vol 3

In 1872, when the first testimony of volume 3 was written, the entire denominational effort of Seventh-day Adventists was in the United States, and largely concentrated in the central and Northeastern States. There were

Testimonies for the Church Vol 3

 eighty-six ordained and licensed ministers preaching the message and supervising the work. We owned and operated one publishing house and one small medical institution, both at Battle Creek, Michigan. For a quarter of a century God had led His people as rapidly as they could advance intelligently and in unison, first into a clear understanding of the doctrines taught in the word, then into a sense of their responsibility to publish the message, then to organization of the church, and then to better ways of living. But there were new experiences and great opportunities for advance before the church. The counsels of volume 3 pave the way for these. {3T 3.1}

Through the preceding twenty-five critical years, elder James White had been the leader of the new cause. He had started the publishing work, labored tirelessly for church organization, built up the medical work, and had stood at the head in both administrative and editorial lines. He had pioneered the way. With his keen business foresight and his entire devotion to the growing church, he was recognized as the leader. This being the case, it was but natural that others should fail to see that they should step in and assume responsibility in the various enterprises of the growing denomination. This volume opens with a discussion of this problem and with an appeal for burden bearers to shoulder the work at the headquarters, relieving James White, who was breaking under the load. Again and again, through the volume, reference is made to the expanding work, the enlarging responsibilities, and the need of younger men to take hold and bear the burdens. The hazards of looking to one man as the great leader were clearly enunciated. {3T 3.2}

The experiences of this period are akin to that of the eagle teaching its young to fly—first bearing the fledgling upon its back and then leaving it to develop its strength, but with the parent ever near enough to render aid when needed. James White’s own failing health, his conviction that others should be stepping in to lift the burdens, and his frequent calls to duty elsewhere, all tended to separate him from the administrative interests at Battle Creek. While Elder and Mrs. White continued to maintain their home midway between the sanitarium and the publishing house in the headquarters city, we find them often in distant parts. In the summers of 1872 and 1873 they spent periods of rest in the mountains of Colorado, and were also for some months in California. A still longer period was spent by them on the West Coast in 1874, at which time Elder White began the publication of theSigns of the Times. Thus others were forced to assume responsibilities of leadership at the headquarters, and the work gained strength. {3T 3.3}

This was a critical period, too, for, during the time when the church was finding its way in the question of leadership and organization, some were inclined to unduly stress individual independence and were in danger of repeating the experience of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram in rebellion against properly constituted authority. Scattered through volume 3 are counsels providing a definite steadying influence through these experiences. Here and there are enumerated in magnificent statements some of the great principles of organization and leadership. {3T 4.1}
The three-year period of the times of this volume also marked the close of the first decade in the teaching and practice of health reform. Counsel was given to guard against extremes on the one hand and indifference on the other. Again and again, in general articles and personal testimonies, Ellen White pointed to the great principles of temperance and right living, and called the people to advance in their new and helpful health reform experience. {3T 4.2}
All this was laying the foundation stones for wider expansion. It was in this period that the believers began to get a glimpse of the entire world as the field of labor. It was a staggering view. It presented a challenge. They did not then see the significance of the little church school started in Battle Creek by Goodloe H. Bell, an experienced teacher who had accepted Adventism through his contacts at the sanitarium as a patient. It was in the early summer of 1872 that he began this schoolwork. A little later that year a beginning was made in laying plans for a more advanced school to train workers. In December, as Testimony No. 22 reached the hands of our people, they found that it opened with an appeal for such a school and instruction as to how it should be conducted. “Proper Education” Is the title of the thirty-page article setting forth the great basic vision on the training of our youth. How could we compass the world with our message unless we had an educated ministry? How could there be an educated ministry unless we had a school? Rising to heed the instruction and meet the challenge set forth so clearly in this volume in pages 131-160, our forefathers established an educational system beginning with Battle Creek College. Its main building was dedicated on January 4, 1875. {3T 4.3}
Only a few months before this epic occasion, elder John N. Andrews, one of our leading ministers, was sent to Switzerland to pioneer the heralding of the message in Europe. In the counsels of a few months earlier, Ellen White had written of the need of missionaries “to go to other nations to preach the truth in a guarded, careful manner.”—Page 204. With the sailing of Elder Andrews in the autumn of 1874, Seventh-day Adventists began to turn their eyes to other lands. {3T 5.1}
The timing of the messages of instruction and counsel which have come to us down through the years is interesting. From the year 1859, Seventh-day Adventists had made advancement in assuming their obligations to God as they discerned their stewardship in systematic benevolence; but they did not at the outset perceive the full obligation of the tithe, the tenth of the income. Now in two articles, in the heart of volume 3, the basis of reckoning the tithe obligation was clarified as the messenger of the Lord wrote of a “tenth of the” “income” and of the “nine tenths” which remained. Not until 1879 was this broader concept of systematic benevolence to become a part of denominational policy, but that step which has done so much to assure a steady and much-needed income for a growing work had its roots in these counsels of the two chapters, “Tithes and Offerings” and “Systematic Benevolence,” which were published early in 1875. The fuller concept of true stewardship was discerned as we were led to see that the calls for benevolence were designed by God, not merely to raise money, but as a means of developing and perfecting character in the giver. {3T 5.2}
As might be expected, an aggressive evangelistic program led to conflict with other religious groups, who often challenged us to debate and argument. Ten years earlier Moses Hull, one of our ministers, had lost his way in placing himself on the enemy’s ground by such discussions. Now repeated counsels presented guidance as they pointed out the dangers and the small fruitage of such contentious efforts. Volume 3 abounds in such counsels. {3T 6.1}
So the topics of this volume are varied, ranging from counsel to the wealthy farmer and his uneducated wife to instruction for the minister and the executive. The general articles fill the larger part of this volume. Here and there are found personal messages, published for the benefit of all, because, as Ellen White wrote, so many of them have to do with experiences “which in many respects represent the cases of others.” {3T 6.2}
A few outstanding revelations form the basis of the larger part of this volume. During this period the outstanding visions were less frequent, but more comprehensive. Again and again reference is made to the comprehensive visions of December 10, 1871, and January 3, 1875. The latter is described by James White in a footnote on page 570. The circumstances of the first will be described more fully here: it was at Bordoville, Vermont, that this vision was given. A report of the meeting held at that place, December 9 and 10, was sent to the Review by Elder A. C. Bourdeau, in whose house it was held. From it we learn that Mrs. White had labored “especially for the church.” At one evening meeting “special testimonies were given to individuals present; and as these were endorsed [by those spoken to], light and freedom broke in.” Sunday afternoon two sons of one of the believers and the wife of one of them came to bid Mrs. White good-by. They had been “in a backslidden state.” Then elder bourdeau gives a vivid picture of what took place: {3T 6.3}
“At this point, Sister White felt the real burden of their cases, and a special yearning after them for their salvation, and gave them rich instructions. She then kneeled down with them and prayed for them with great earnestness, faith, and tenacity, that they might return unto the Lord. They yielded and prayed, promising to serve the Lord. The Spirit of the Lord drew nearer and nearer. Sister White was free, and soon, unexpectedly to all, she was in vision. She remained in this condition fifteen minutes. {3T 7.1}
“The news spread, and soon the house was crowded. Sinners trembled, believers wept, and backsliders returned to God. The work was not confined to those present, as we have since learned. Some who had remained at home were powerfully convicted. They saw themselves as they had never done before. The angel of God was shaking the place. The shortness of time, the terrors and nearness of coming judgments and the time of trouble, the worldly-mindedness of the church, their lack of brotherly love, and their state of unreadiness to meet the Lord, were strongly impressed upon the minds of all.”—The Review and Herald, December 26, 1871. {3T 7.2}
Such were the times of volume 3. {3T 7.3}
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Testimonies for the Church Vol 4

A seven-year period of 1875 to 1881 was spanned by the five pamphlets which now make volume 4 of Testimonies for the Church. These were the last seven years of James White’s life. The work of the denomination had

Testimonies for the Church Vol 4

 entered a period of rapid expansion. Elder and Mrs. White were traveling extensively and laboring tirelessly in public ministry, in personal interviews, and in writing. They were wrestling with the problems of an expanding institutional work. {4T 5.1}

The mission in Europe was making good progress, other workers being sent to join Elder Andrews in 1876. The comprehensive vision of January 3, 1875, given at Battle Creek, which formed the basis of much of the first half of volume 4, led to a better understanding of the world-wide nature of our work. {4T 5.2}
On the Pacific Coast the work of the denomination was developing rapidly. The newly started Signs of the Times was put on a firm basis, and in 1875 the Pacific Press, our second Seventh-day Adventist publishing house, was opened in Oakland. This soon became the largest and best equipped publishing establishment operated on the Pacific Coast. In 1878, near St. Helena in Northern California, the second denominational sanitarium opened its doors for service. {4T 5.3}

With increased publishing facilities, we found ourselves with a rapidly developing literature, which by the close of the period of volume 4 includedThoughts on Daniel and the Revelation, by Uriah Smith, History of the Sabbath, By J. N. Andrews, and a number of works of lesser importance dealing with health, religious topics, temperance, and themes of interest to children. Plans for more systematic literature distribution were inaugurated with regularly employed colporteurs calling from door to door in selling our truth-filled books. A great movement in free literature distribution by our laymen was also well under way, with elder S. N. Haskell leading out in the organization of tract and missionary societies. {4T 5.4}

Volume 4 spans an era of great Seventh-day Adventist camp meetings. With the first of such gatherings held in 1868, the plan had been followed with increasing enthusiasm. Within a decade there was scarcely a state

 conference that did not have its annual summer meeting. Sites were well selected, and good publicity was given. It was in connection with these large camp meetings that a concerted effort at reporting the work of Seventh-day Adventists in the newspapers was begun. Great pains were taken to make the camp representative, to provide good food, and to present a telling message. The meetings of five, six, or seven days’ duration, which on week days were attended by a few hundred Adventists, would over week ends attract several thousand interested non-Adventist listeners. The peak of such interest was in 1876, when, in Groveland, Massachusetts, a suburb of Boston, twenty thousand people crowded onto the camp ground on Sunday, August 27. Mrs. White addressed fifteen thousand attentive listeners on that afternoon. {4T 6.1}

Temperance work also came prominently to the front in the times of volume 4. Seventh-day Adventists, with Mrs. White as one of their leading speakers, were prominently in the front, often in association with established temperance organizations. The practical way in which they labored to stem the tide of intemperance is told by Mrs. White in her chapter, “Experience and Labors,” Found in the heart of this book. {4T 6.2}
At the denomination’s headquarters in Battle Creek there was great activity during these years of the late seventies. The new tabernacle succeeded the outgrown house of worship. This new church, built to accommodate General Conference sessions, was known as the Dime Tabernacle, because each church member throughout the land was asked to contribute at least ten cents for its construction. It was erected between the Review and Herald office and the sanitarium, facing a beautiful park. New, greatly enlarged sanitarium buildings were erected and put into use. At about this same time the medical work became more soundly established as physicians trained especially for this line of service returned from the best medical schools of the land to lead out in this important work in Battle Creek. The denominational health journal, Good Health, was enjoying the “largest circulation of any health journal in America.” The review and herald office had become the “largest and best equipped printing office in the state” of Michigan. The work of the newly opened Battle Creek College made steady progress, and by the year 1881 there was an enrollment of nearly five hundred students. {4T 6.3}  Testimonies for the Church
While through these years Elder and Mrs. White made their home either in Michigan or in California, we find them for some months in Texas. Later Mrs. White made an extended trip to the Pacific Northwest. They were back again in Battle Creek, Michigan, at the time of elder White’s death in 1881.{4T 7.1}  Testimonies for the Church
Such are some of the happenings of the times of volume 4. All through the book there are messages of counsel and instruction which have a bearing on all these rapidly developing lines of endeavor. But the emphasis of the instruction in this 657-page volume is on the personal experience of the workers and the church members. True, the expanding work of a rapidly growing denomination often needed and received guidance and cautions. 
But the affairs of the administration were secondary to the personal experience of the leaders and the church members. The conduct of the enterprises of the church meant only the running of machinery if the spiritual experience of Seventh-day Adventists declined to the level of mere formalism. The church must be kept pure, its standards high, its members alive in service and enjoying daily a personal experience in the things of God. {4T 7.2}
It is not strange, then, that the large part of volume 4 deals with such practical topics as “Appetite,” “Family Discipline,” “Self-Control,” “Uprightness in Deal,” “Sacredness of Vows,” “Unscriptural Marriages,” “Simplicity in Dress,” “Love of the World,” “Preparation for Christ’s Coming,” and a score of other vital subjects. These were some of the messages which served to reform, correct, and purify the church in these earlier years. Because Seventh-day Adventists must wrestle with the same tempter and meet the same problems and experiences today, these inspired articles should be earnestly read and reread, and their counsels and warnings heeded, that God’s purpose in sending this instruction to lift up and encourage the church may reach its fulfillment. {4T 7.3}
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Testimonies for the Church Vol 5

A little less than a decade is spanned by Testimonies Nos. 31 to 33, which comprise volume 5. The first was published in 1882, but includes messages given in 1881 and onward. No. 32 was published in 1885, and No. 33

Testimonies for the Church Vol 5

 came from the press in 1889. That same year the three were united in one book—volume 5. {5T 3.1}
This was an intensely interesting period in the rapidly developing work of Seventh-day Adventists. In North America two new advanced schools were started in the year 1882, one at South Lancaster, Massachusetts, and the other at Healdsburg, California. Thus, from our denominational center at Battle Creek, the educational work was beginning to reach out toward the ends of the earth. Ten years earlier our first school had been opened at Battle Creek, and two years later its new buildings had been dedicated. During these ten years many problems incident to the pioneering of this new and important line of endeavor were met. Sometimes the issues were large, and in not a few instances special counsel was given through the spirit of prophecy to guide and guard this work. These messages dealing with problems, from discipline to curriculum, form a part of this book. {5T 3.2}

The nine-year period of this volume was also a time of extensive writing and publishing on the part of Ellen White. In 1882 arrangements were made to reprint A Sketch of the Christian Experience and Views of Ellen G. White and Spiritual Gifts Volume One. The same year these two books were united in one volume and entitled Early Writings. To meet the constant demand for the Testimonies, The first thirty numbers were reprinted in 1885 in four books—Volumes 1 to 4, as they appear today. Sketches from the Life of Paul, The forerunner of The Acts of the Apostles, was published in 1883. In 1884, Mrs. White completed her work on Spirit of Prophecy Volume FourThe Great Controversy, and it was published immediately. It soon found its way through colporteur channels to many thousands of homes, and ten editions were rolled from the presses in three short years of time. In 1888 the enlarged Great Controversy, the book we know so well today, was published, taking the place of the earlier, briefer volume. {5T 3.3}

At the denominational headquarters in Battle Creek there was a steady growth. New equipment was added in the publishing house. The sanitarium and the college were greatly prospered and continued to grow. These developments brought large numbers of Seventh-day Adventists to that city. The hazards of so many Adventists gathering in one center, with the inevitable tendency to a feeling of less responsibility and toward lower standards, is pointed out in the early part of this volume. These institutional developments were also fraught with the danger that the work would become mechanical and lose its initial simplicity. Such dangers appeared especially in the publishing house. The testimonies of this volume stress economy, industry, alertness, and furnish managers and foremen with guiding instruction for their tasks. {5T 4.1}
At this same time, while problems of long-established work were being met at our headquarters, out in the Pacific Northwest new fields were being developed, and many were accepting the message. With the opening of these frontier regions, there were many new problems. Ellen White herself made two visits to the Northwest and in connection with the last trip wrote much counsel to those who were laboring there—counsel on practical subjects vital to the welfare of the work and the ministers who were working among the sturdy, independent-minded men and women who had pushed westward and established their homes in these vast, newly opened regions. These were men and women of energy, daring, rugged individuality; and many were persons of deep conviction who accepted the call of the Advent message. These vigorous pioneers needed the strong, molding influence of the Spirit of God in the development of Christian character. They needed warnings against the love of money and worldly ambitions. {5T 4.2}
To the ministry were sent earnest counsels pointing out the danger that their messages might be shaped by the opinions of strong-minded church members. Counsel was given to guard against carelessness in the erection of church edifices, as seen in some instances. Warnings were also given against lightly regarding pledges of gifts to God’s cause. All these and other counsels dealing with many other problems connected with the work in these new territories occupy a prominent place in this volume. {5T 5.1}
The eyes of Seventh-day Adventists were being turned more and more to the world field. For a decade we had been carrying on work in Europe. Now, in 1885, Elders S.N. Haskell and J.O. Corliss, with a company of workers, were sent to Australia to open up work in that southern continent. Africa was entered two years later by Elders D.A. Robinson and C.L. Boyd, and the message was carried to Hong Kong that same year by a layman, Brother Abraham La Rue. Then, in 1889, colporteurs commenced their work in South America. Even Mrs. White was called overseas, leaving for Europe in 1885. There she spent two and a half years traveling, counseling, speaking, and writing. In June, 1887, at Moss, Norway, she attended the first Seventh-day Adventist camp meeting held outside the United States. Her ministry overseas was much appreciated. {5T 5.2}
There was also, during the time represented by volume 5, considerable opposition on the part of a small group of disaffected souls who years earlier had left our ranks. Their attacks were leveled primarily against the agent of the prophetic gift and her writings which have strengthened and built up the church through the years. Also during the decade of this volume, one of our leading evangelists lost his way and was soon actively engaged in tearing down a work he had formerly labored to establish. Two communications written by Ellen White to restrain this man from the plunge he was about to take, are found in this book. One commences on page 571 and the other on page 621. The attempt to save him was fruitless, and he turned in bitter tirade on Mrs. White and the prophetic gift. While such attacks, of course, did not deter the work of Seventh-day Adventists, it is clear that they were recognized as distracting elements that should be counteracted. {5T 5.3}  Testimonies for the Church
It is not strange, then, that several vital articles touching on the prophetic gift were penned during this time. One of these forms the basis of the introduction to The Great Controversy, 1888, edition. Others are found in this volume. It was at this time, too, that Mrs. White gathered from all the published Testimonies that which she had written on the nature and influence of the Testimonies for the Church, and compiled them into a thirty-eight-page article found near the close of this volume. {5T 6.1}
In the fall of 1888 an important General Conference session was held in Minneapolis, Minnesota. At this meeting there came to those assembled a broader, fuller conception of the great truths of righteousness by faith. The failure of some to open their hearts to the light which was there caused to shine so brightly spurred Mrs. White to lead out in an encouragement to diligent Bible study and to break down the barriers to advancement in the perception of truth. At the General Conference session the next year, 1889, workers and laity alike reported in their social meetings that “the past year” had “been the best of their life; the light shining forth from the word of God has been clear and distinct—justification by faith, Christ our righteousness…. The universal testimony from those who have spoken has been that this message of light and truth which has come to our people is just the truth for this time and wherever they go among the churches, light and relief and the blessing of God are sure to come in.”—E.G. WhiteManuscript 10, 1889, quoted in The Fruitage of Spiritual Gifts, page 234. God’s message to his people turned into a glorious victory the tide which threatened defeat. {5T 6.2}  Testimonies for the Church
As the writing of this volume was being brought to a close, a crisis threatened in the United States in the form of a proposed national sunday law. In this connection there was brought before Mrs. White the views of the impending conflict and the issues which the church must meet as apostate Protestantism unites with Catholicism to enforce oppressive measures. The pathetic lethargy of those who understood the issues was clearly portrayed, and there was a call to action. {5T 7.1}
In volume 5 there is a greater diversity of subjects than in any other of the nine volumes of the Testimonies. This was the last of the group ofTestimony volumes to contain “personal testimonies” addressed to various individuals. A period of eleven years was to elapse before the issuance of Volume 6 of Testimony writings. {5T 7.2}  Testimonies for the Church
This volume is of great value to the church today because of the practical nature of its timely warnings and counsels. Stressed all through it are solemn statements pointing out the nearness of the end and the preparation which is needed in the light of the impending conflict. Ministers are called to deeper consecration. Executives are admonished. Physicians are counseled. Teachers are warned against adopting worldly principles and are encouraged to guide their students into soul-winning services. Colporteur evangelists are urged to higher standards of qualification. Parents are given instruction regarding home life and child training. Those with so-called new light, but with a message contrary to the fundamentals of doctrine, are reproved. The rank and file of the people are called to a revival and reformation. {5T 7.3}  Testimonies for the Church
The instruction and warnings of this volume exerted a steadying, sobering influence upon Seventh-day Adventists as they were launching out into greater lines of endeavor. They exert the same influence today. {5T 7.4}
The Trustees of the
Ellen G. While Publications.
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Testimonies for the Church Vol 6

This volume presents testimonies penned by Ellen G. White during her sojourn in Australia. Except for an occasional reference to the local field, the reader would not detect that the writer was in another continent, for the

Testimonies for the Church Vol 6

 instruction is world wide in its scope. It is a fact, nevertheless, that the revelations given to Mrs. White had a direct bearing on current issues and the development of the work at the time of writing. It is understandable, therefore, that there are represented in this volume topics which were related to the lines of work being developed in the Australasian field during this period. Publication of the book took place in the year 1901, after Mrs. White had returned to the United States. {6T 3.1}  Testimonies for the Church

In its topical arrangement, volume 6 is quite different from the preceding five volumes. Up to this time the testimonies had first appeared in pamphlets and small books as counsel was progressively given for the Church. The articles were printed largely in chronological order, and dealt with almost every phase of Christian experience and every line of denominational work. As the content of these thirty-three publications was reprinted in volumes 1 to 5, the original order was left unchanged. A number of the articles were communications addressed first to individuals and later published for the church because the cases presented illustrated the experience of many others. Some of the articles dealt with local situations and special issues. There was some repetition of thought, as important lines of truth were stressed again and again as the Church was in danger of neglecting some line of work or of letting slip some church standard. These testimonies bore rich fruit in the lives of Seventh-day Adventists and in the work of the denomination. {6T 3.2}

With the publication of volume 6, eleven years after volume 5 was issued, the Testimonies for the Church took on a new form. The work of the denomination, now becoming world wide in its scope, presented needs and problems which called forth considerable counsel and instruction in certain particular lines. This represented largely an amplification of lines of instruction presented in earlier years and a re-emphasis of counsel. Consequently it was not difficult, when the articles for volume 6 were gathered for publication, to arrange them in topical order. {6T 3.3}  Testimonies for the Church

That Mrs. White might assist in the starting of a training school in Australia, she was asked to go to that field in 1891. She led out in the appeals for the school and assisted in laying plans for the work. Being in a new field, there was little by way of past experience or precedent to influence the plans. Under these favorable circumstances, and with the spirit of prophecy counsels to guide and guard, the Australasian Missionary College was established in a backward country region. From this training center, Australian youth, with the practical education gained at Avondale, were to serve in the home fields and to penetrate the far-flung islands of the South Pacific. In its rural environment, in its broad industrial program, and in some other features the Avondale school was to become a pattern school. As the instruction concerning the conduct of our educational work was presented anew to guide and mold this institution, entering into the many details of location, finance, curriculum, discipline, and administration, it was included in this volume for the benefit of the church around the world. {6T 4.1}  Testimonies for the Church
When Mrs. White reached Australian Shores, she found a work well begun, but still in its infancy. In the aggressive evangelistic program which was developed and fostered, not only the evangelists themselves were engaged in service, but in not a few cases they were joined by their wives in giving Bible studies and sometimes in preaching. Several well-planned evangelistic camp meetings were held, which were carefully followed up so as to conserve the harvest. There were many conversions, followed by baptisms and the organizing of new churches and the building of meetinghouses. {6T 4.2}
Not only in the planning for the work was the influence of the spirit of prophecy felt, but Mrs. White herself took an active part in preaching, in personal work, and in assisting in the raising of money for the new church buildings. Counsel regarding these phases of our work is found in this volume. {6T 5.1}  Testimonies for the Church
It was in the times of volume 6 that Seventh-day Adventists became more fully mission conscious and accepted the whole world as a field of labor. The building and launching of the mission boat, “Pitcairn,” in California in 1890 fired the imagination of young and old alike and focused attention on an around-the-world mission program. The reports of the voyages of the “Pitcairn,” as it pioneered mission work in the South Sea Islands, were eagerly watched by all. {6T 5.2}
It was not long until colporteur evangelists entered India with our literature, and in 1894 our missionaries in Africa pushed up into distinctively native territories and established the Solusi Mission, our first foreign mission among heathen peoples. Ministers were also soon sent into South America. Then, too, Mrs. White’s presence in Australia for nine years as a pioneer worker helped to keep the eyes of Seventh-day Adventists on the ends of the earth and to place emphasis on the admonition given on page 31 of this volume: “It is our work to give to the whole world,—to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people,—the saving truths of the third angel’s message.” Throughout the volume various mission fields are mentioned by name, and appeals for men and means are presented, together with counsel and encouragement concerning the work in different lands. {6T 5.3}
A number of colleges and worker training schools were started during the times of volume 6. Early in the period Union College at Lincoln, Nebraska, was opened in 1891 and Walla Walla College in the state of Washington in 1892. The others were in Australia, South Africa, and Denmark. Sanitariums were also opened at Boulder, Colorado, in 1896, in Denmark and South Africa in 1897, and at South Lancaster, Massachusetts, in 1899. Two new publishing houses were added to the list of institutions, one in Hamburg, Germany, in 1895, and the other in Buenos Aires, South America, in 1897. Church schools presenting elementary work were also begun in several places. {6T 5.4}  Testimonies for the Church
Though many warnings were given against large denominational centers and centralizing tendencies, the steadily growing work seemed to require more people and larger facilities at our denominational headquarters at Battle Creek, Michigan, and plans were even initiated to bring certain lines of denominational work under central control at Battle Creek. Thus instead of the plans for the work of various sections of the field being laid by those on the ground, they were directed largely from the home offices in Battle Creek. This had the appearance of business efficiency, yet it actually was a serious menace to efficiency and vital leadership in the work of God. Through the nineties these tendencies developed rapidly, but in God’s own time and in his own way they were checked. {6T 6.1}
It was in these times and under the influence of the spirit of prophecy counsels that the ground structure was laid for organizational changes in the administration of the denomination’s world work. As the cause was pioneered and developed rapidly under the favorable conditions of Australia, steps were taken to bind the local conference organizations into a “union conference,” thus establishing an organizational unit between the local conference and the General Conference. This made possible, on-the-ground planning by the group of workers close to the problems, and thus relieved the General Conference of many minor details. The result was encouraging and formed the pattern which was soon to be followed throughout the denomination. {6T 6.2}
In the lines of medical evangelism a beginning was made in Australia during this period, but in the United States it was a time of great expansion. A medical college was set in operation which attracted an increasing number of Seventh-day Adventist youth desiring preparation as medical missionaries. New branch institutions were opened, receiving their guidance, finance, and personnel from the great parent institution at Battle Creek. A large work was also launched for the fallen and unfortunate. But good enterprises are often threatened with the danger of overemphasis, thereby bringing an unbalance into the work of God as a whole. So now it seemed that the medical missionary work, which had been designated as the right arm of the message, threatened to become the body. {6T 6.3}
Too, while there was great advance in the development of medical missionaries and medical missionary work in connection with the Battle Creek Sanitarium, there was growing indifference on the part of some Seventh-day Adventists to the basic principles of healthful living. These conditions help us to understand the significance of the repeated appeals in volume 6 calling the people to higher standards of living, urging a united medical and evangelistic ministry, delineating our duty to orphans and the aged of the household of faith, and cautioning against an unbalanced work. {6T 7.1}
As the denominational work developed in many fields, literature found an ever increasingly important place. Colporteur evangelists constituted an army, with the individual colporteur a part of the recognized staff of gospel heralds in each section of the world field. In not a few instances these literature evangelists had formed the spearhead of attack in carrying the message to new and distant lands. Volume 6 sets forth the dignity and importance of the colporteur ministry. {6T 7.2}
This eleven-year period between the publication of volumes 5 and 6 of the Testimonies marked the issuance of several important E. G. White books. In 1890 Patriarchs and Prophets came from the press. Steps to Christ was published in 1892, and what is today known as “the old edition” ofGospel Workers Was also printed that year. Christian Education, the forerunner of Education, was issued in 1894, and two years later Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing and Christ Our Saviour were printed. Work on the manuscript for The Desire of Ages was completed and the book printed in 1898, and in 1900 Christ’s Object Lessons was published. {6T 7.3}  Testimonies for the Church
In an effort to relieve our institutions of the heavy indebtedness which they were carrying, Mrs. White donated the manuscript for Christ’s Object Lessons and urged our church members and workers to join in its wide sale to their neighbors and friends. Hundreds of thousands of dollars were thus brought into the cause through this relief book campaign, and thousands of copies of this truth-filled book were distributed. {6T 8.1}  Testimonies for the Church
A type of work was in this way initiated which led large numbers of lay members to call from house to house in behalf of the work of the church. Thus the way was paved for the “ingathering” campaigns which were to develop a few years later into a source of revenue to the work of God, yielding millions of dollars. {6T 8.2}  Testimonies for the Church
Of course, all through this eleven-year period, scores and hundreds of communications bearing warnings, counsels, and encouragement were penned by the messenger of the Lord and were sent into the field in letters and in articles in the journals of the denomination. While many of these dealt with subjects already presented less comprehensively in the earlier Testimonies, some new phases of counsel were set forth and former counsels emphasized. These are found in such general sections as “Cautions and Counsels” and “Calls to Service.” among the important articles comprising these sections are such as deal with “The Observance of the Sabbath,” “A Revival in Health Reform,” “Our Attitude toward the Civil Authorities,” “Preparation for the Final Crisis,” and “The Relief of Our Schools.” The adding of this new volume to the growing series of Testimonies for the Church deeply impressed Seventh-day Adventists with the direct way in which God was continuing to guide and lead his people. {6T 8.3}
The Trustees of the Ellen G. White Publications.
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Testimonies for the Church Vol 7

Volume 7 was published in late 1902, only about two years after the issuance of volume 6; but in those few months epochal advancement was made, especially in the reorganization of our denominational work. {7T 3.1}

Testimonies for the Church Vol 7

  Testimonies for the Church

In 1863, some thirty-eight years earlier, the general conference had been organized, with six local conferences, all in the United States. There had then been thirty ministers, ordained and licensed, serving 3,500 church members and 125 churches. There were no Seventh-day Adventist schools or sanitariums, and only one denominational publishing house. {7T 3.2}  Testimonies for the Church

Each succeeding decade had marked a doubling of church membership and employed laborers, and the beginning of new lines of endeavor. By the turn of the century the work had grown to world proportions. The statistical report for 1900 shows that literature was being issued in thirty-nine languages from thirteen publishing houses and branches. Five hundred ordained ministers, with a thousand other workers in various branches of denominational endeavor were serving 66,000 believers, holding membership in 1,892 churches. These were grouped in forty-five local conferences and forty-two local missions. In Australia and also in Europe the local conferences were newly knit together in Union Conference organizations. {7T 3.3}
With the development of the publishing work, and with the inception of the medical and educational interests and the beginning of Sabbath School work, autonomous organizations had been formed to care for these branches of the cause. There were the International Sabbath School, Medical Missionary, and Religious Liberty Associations, besides various publishing and educational associations. The foreign mission work was managed by the Foreign Mission Board. Although the interests of these various organizations were interrelated, yet each served as a separate distinct body with headquarters offices widely separated over the United States. As for the Foreign Mission Board office, New York City was chosen because of the advantages of a large shipping center. In the case of the Sabbath School Association, Oakland, California, was a center convenient to its officers. The religious liberty work was headed up in Chicago, Illinois, and the medical missionary work at Battle Creek, Michigan. {7T 3.4}
It is not difficult to see that the denomination in its natural development had outgrown the original provisions of 1863. Some change must needs be made. The General Conference Committee consisted of twelve members, four of whom were residents in Battle Creek. How could these few men care for the rapidly growing work, now world-wide in its scope? All the local conferences and missions around the world, outside of the Australasian and European Union Conferences, were instructed to look directly to the General Conference for leadership. It is little wonder that the needs of some fields were neglected, or that in some cases the management lacked efficiency. Perplexities multiplied as certain branches of the work were seemingly getting out of hand as they grew disproportionately and forged ahead within the independent organizational lines of their own creating. {7T 4.1}
Such were the circumstances in April, 1901, when Ellen G. White, recently returned from Australia to the United States, spoke at the opening meeting of the General Conference session. She called for a thorough reorganization of the work, especially stressing the need for a distribution of responsibilities. While the need had been apparent, how to grapple with the situation had been a perplexing problem. Now, with the call to action, and with men of vision and faith to lead out, the work of the General Conference was reorganized. First, the Union Conference plan, which had been inaugurated in Australia and followed in Europe, was adopted. This relieved the General Conference administration of many details which could and should be cared for locally. Second, the groundwork was laid to bring the various autonomous organizations of the denomination, such as the publishing, medical, sabbath school, and educational work, into the general conference administration as departments. Third, the General Conference Committee was greatly enlarged and made representative of the whole world field and all branches of the work. {7T 4.2}
Some phases of the work of the General Conference were reorganized rather quickly. The Sabbath School, educational, and religious liberty departments were soon brought into being. For other branches it took time, and in some cases it was not until disaster struck that there was seen the necessity for a change. For the medical work it was necessary that the process of reorganization should reach into the thinking of the men and women connected with it and change their philosophy of the great work in which they were engaged. At the time of the General Conference session in 1901 it seemed that the Battle Creek Sanitarium had reached its zenith and, with its satellite institutions, constituted a large part of the work of Seventh-day Adventists. It became evident that its leaders were beginning to envision a great Christian medical missionary work quite undenominational in character, which, as they thought of it, would soon eclipse the work of the Seventh-day Adventist denomination. {7T 5.1}
Then, on February 18, 1902, the first disaster struck. The main building of the Battle Creek Sanitarium burned to the ground. While arrangements were soon made for re-establishing the plant, the experience of the fire together with the spirit of prophecy counsels which reached the hands of the workers within the next few months, led many to see more clearly the true place of medical missionary work as a distinctive but integral part of the work of the denomination. There was a call to spread out and establish many medical missionary centers, not too large or ambitious in their scope. {7T 5.2} Testimonies for the Church
It was in these settings that Mrs. White’s articles constituting the section on “Our Sanitarium Work” were penned. They were included in volume 7 so they might continue to serve the denomination. {7T 6.1} Testimonies for the Church
In the earlier years, when the Review and Herald and the Pacific Press were established, it had been necessary to have well-equipped plants to produce the type of literature needed at a moderate price. But in the beginning days, there was not a full-time use for such establishments in strictly denominational work. To keep the machinery operating and to maintain a well-trained printing house staff, our publishing institutions had solicited commercial printing. Such work ranged from the printing of stationery and office forms to the issuance of bound books. This was quite remunerative and helped to maintain the plants and the staffs on a sound basis. {7T 6.2} Testimonies for the Church
A number of problems, however, arose in this commercial printing. Manuscripts for books were offered and accepted which were not of an uplifting character. Some of this literature contained serious doctrinal errors, and some of it was for other reasons decidedly detrimental. These conditions reached a climax in the times of volume 7. The offices of publication received spirit of prophecy messages pointing out the dangers of this work and calling for a reform. Then, too, through the years, as the denominational work should continue to develop, the time was bound to come when the facilities and the staffs would be needed exclusively for denominational work. It was not, however, until both the Review and Herald and the Pacific Press were destroyed by fire in succeeding years that these messages bore their full fruit. As plans were laid for the work to be conducted in the rebuilt offices, the leaders stepped forward by faith, dedicating the new buildings and equipment solely to the printing of denominational literature. They did so in the light of the counsels of volume 7, which have had a molding influence on our publishing work around the world. {7T 6.3} Testimonies for the Church
As Mrs. White made her journey from St. Helena, California, to Battle Creek, Michigan, to attend the 1901 General Conference session, she took the southern route, stopping at Nashville to inspect the newly established publishing office and visiting some of the new schools at other points. These enterprises had been called into being largely through her appeals set forth in the columns of the Review and Herald for the beginning of a broad work in the South. Her counsels had inspired and guided those who fostered the work, although at the time of writing she was in Australia. Now it was her privilege to visit these centers and with her own eyes see what was being accomplished. {7T 7.1} Testimonies for the Church
With this firsthand view of the field and its needs, supplementing the revelations that had been given to her, and with new views of the work, she was impelled to call for a larger number of regularly employed laborers and lay men alike to push into the Southern States to take advantage of the opportunities for spreading the message, grappling with the problems of the conduct of the work, both among the white and the colored people. These stirring appeals written during this two-year period form an important part of volume 7. They were instrumental in leading not a few families to move to the great Southland to herald the message through quiet Godly living and in active evangelism. An abundant harvest of this sowing is seen today. {7T 7.2}
As Seventh-day Adventists in their early experience practiced and taught reforms in living, they led out in the development and manufacture of health foods, some to take the place of harmful articles of diet, and some to aid in providing an appetizing adequate and balanced diet. It was the efforts and teachings of Seventh-day Adventists which laid the foundation of the great cereal food interests which have been developed in later years, though the work of manufacturing has passed largely from our hands. Still in the times of volume 7 we were operating quite a number of our own health food production centers, and in some cities health restaurants were being conducted. Several chapters appearing in volume 7 gave counsel regarding this work, urging that it might be conducted in such a way as to leave a telling influence for the distinctive message that this people are heralding to the world. {7T 7.3} Testimonies for the Church
The messages during the times of volume 7 also mark the calls to advance in city work. Though these were to be followed by other urgent appeals which appeared in succeeding years, the needs of our great cities were first brought before our people in a general way in the opening section of this book. The work to be done was not limited to conference workers. Laymen from the ranks were to be drawn into an ever-expanding task in the great centers of population. A great evangelistic program was begun which was to continue for many years. {7T 8.1}  Testimonies for the Church
When volume 7 was published, Seventh-day Adventists had been conducting active work for more than a half century. The passage of the years meant that there was an enlarging number of workers who must lay off the armor and drop their burdens. Such had sacrificed and labored to build up the cause of God, but now when the time had come for them to drop their work and let younger hands lift the burdens, there was no provision for their support. The need and the remedy was clearly revealed to Mrs. White, and in her closing messages of volume 7 she sets forth in tender words the responsibility of the church to its aging workers. The fruit of her call for a fund from which to care for the needs of such retired workers is seen today in the sustentation plan which was brought into being a few years after the issuance of this volume {7T 8.2}  Testimonies for the Church
Thus volume 7 is devoted to only a few lines of instruction, but its vital counsels are far-reaching and have borne rich fruit. {7T 8.3}
The Trustees of the
Ellen G. White Publications.
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Testimonies for the Church Vol 8

Volume 8 was published to meet a crisis—the greatest crisis which the Seventh-day Adventist church has ever faced. The urgency of the matter is evidenced in that the book came from the press in March, 1904, fifteen

Testimonies for the Church Vol 8

 months after volume 7 was published. At the time of its issuance it was not known how the tide would turn. Today we can look back and see that its steadying instruction was a large factor in averting threatened disaster. {8T 5.1}  Testimonies for the Church

While the work of the denomination was reaching out to encompass the world, and while there had been a reorganization of the General Conference which made a rapid yet sound growth possible, developments in our old headquarters city of battle Creek, Michigan, took shape which, if they had been unchecked, would have led to the destruction of the very foundations of Seventh-day Adventist faith. It all came about in such a subtle way that its hazards were not detected at the outset, for error was presenting itself under the garb of “new light.” {8T 5.2}  Testimonies for the Church
Near the turn of the century, certain of the workers of the denomination, and especially the leader in the medical missionary interests, espoused certain teachings concerning the personality of God which were quite out of harmony with the clear teachings of the word of God and the positions of the church. Yet these teachings were set forth as an advancement in the understanding of the message, the general acceptance of which would, it was claimed, bring a glorious experience to the people of God and would hasten the finishing of the work. {8T 5.3}  Testimonies for the Church
These pantheistic views envisioned God not as a great personal being ruling the universe, but rather as a power, a force, seen and felt in nature and pervading the very atmosphere. Confusing the power of God with His personality, they saw God in the sunshine, in the flower, in the grass, in the tree, and in their fellow human beings. These strange but entrancing views were publicly presented at one General Conference session, they were freely advocated in Battle Creek College, and were presented again and again in the Battle Creek Sanitarium. At length this “new light” became a topic of discussion when Seventh-day Adventist workers gathered informally or for seasons of counsel. While it was a matter of deep concern to the leaders of the church, their efforts to check these pantheistic teachings seemed almost wholly ineffective. {8T 5.4}  Testimonies for the Church
Through the winter of 1902-03 the movement gained momentum. Then the problem became acute with the publication of a book on physiology and hygiene written in popular style, in which the leading physician of the denomination set forth these views in a subtle way. The book was issued for wide sale by Seventh-day Adventists to aid in securing funds for the rebuilding of the Battle Creek Sanitarium. It seemed to the leaders of the church that the crisis would most surely be reached at the general conference session held in the spring of 1903, when they hoped Mrs. White would deal clearly with the matter. But each time she spoke she seemed to be restrained and presented a message calling for unity in the work and the need of pressing together in interest. When the General Conference session closed, the issue was still not met. {8T 6.1}Testimonies for the Church
A few months later, in the autumn of 1903, Mrs. White was instructed in vision to meet promptly and squarely the pantheistic doctrines and to point out the dangers of the accompanying speculative and spiritistic teachings. Communications dispatched by her from California reached the brethren in autumn council session in Washington, D. C., at the peak of the crisis. All could now see that God was guiding and guarding his work, and in the light of the spirit of prophecy messages nearly all took their stand on the side of truth. In the field, however, there was perplexity, uncertainty, and confusion.Testimonies for the Church, Volume 8, bore a message on this matter which in certain terms defined the truth and thus left the error to stand out in bold contrast. The crisis was met, and the church was saved. No human power alone could have preserved the church in this crisis. {8T 6.2}
Testimonies for the Church
Besides this paramount doctrinal controversy, there were other church issues in the times of volume 8. Only a few weeks after volume 7 had come from the press, with its message of counsel regarding the work being done in our publishing houses, the factory of the Review and Herald Publishing Association was destroyed by fire. This was the second great disaster in Battle Creek and followed the sanitarium fire by less than eleven months. {8T 7.1}Testimonies for the Church
There were problems incident to this loss much greater than that of replacing destroyed property. For years the spirit of prophecy counsels had called for a dispersion of believers from battle creek and the establishment of sanitarium, educational, and publishing interests elsewhere. Our people had been urged not to congregate in large numbers at the headquarters of the work. It was in response to these counsels that the old Battle Creek College had been moved to the country location of Berrien Springs, Michigan. Now with the manufacturing plant of the Review and Herald destroyed by fire, it seemed to the leaders to be a propitious time to relocate the work of the publishing house at some other point, and appropriate steps were taken in that direction. {8T 7.2}
Testimonies for the Church
From the outset the General Conference headquarters had been located near the Review and Herald office. The two seemed inseparable. Any plan to move one would involve the other. In response to guidance through the spirit of prophecy, suitable locations were sought, and finally, in the suburbs of Washington, D. C., The nation’s capital, acceptable properties were found, and the work of the publishing house and the General Conference offices were moved to that center in August, 1903. {8T 7.3}
Testimonies for the Church
To help Seventh-day Adventists understand the background of the cause of the disaster which wiped out the publishing house, and the need of re-establishing the work on a new basis and in a new location, “Counsels Often Repeated” were set forth in volume 8. {8T 8.1}Testimonies for the Church
These issues, involving our medical work, our publishing work, and the very doctrines of the church, were large and could easily divert the attention of our people around the world from the main task before us—that of carrying the everlasting gospel to all the world. Even though volume 8 was issued primarily to meet these crises, and to make the correct course forever clear to Seventh-day Adventists, Ellen White made a positive approach. The book opens, not with a picture of the problems confronting us, but rather with the section entitled “Present Opportunities” in which “Our Work” is set forth in appealing terms. Then follow chapters on “The Commission,” “The Power Promised,” and views of our responsibilities at home and abroad, with special mention of “The Work in Europe.” How it would have pleased the great enemy of truth if the minds and thoughts of the people of God could have been turned from the great unfinished task by speculations regarding the Godhead, by fanaticism, or by confused ideas of organization. But God’s people were not to be diverted from their work of enlightening the world. With their eyes on the work, advance moves were made. {8T 8.2}  Testimonies for the Church
True, some lost their way in the crisis of 1902-03. Certain institutional properties were lost to the denomination; but, rather than retarding the work, the crisis marked the opening of great aggressive movements. The warnings of the section “Be On Guard” and the clear delineation of truth in the group of chapters on “The Essential Knowledge” will ever serve to keep the church from misleading teachings, and the other counsels of volume 8 will be of benefit to the end of time. {8T 8.3}  Testimonies for the Church
The Trustees of the
Ellen G. White Publications.
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Testimonies for the Church Vol 9

As we look at the times of volume 9 we view a five-year span extending to the late summer of 1909. In Mrs. White’s experience this period is opened and closed with trips from her home in St. Helena, California, to the East

Testimonies for the Church Vol 9

 to attend important meetings. For the denomination it is a time of full recovery from the crisis of 1902-03 and of extending the work, of launching new enterprises, and of establishing new institutions. {9T 3.1}

Following important meetings in Michigan in the spring of 1904, Mrs. White visited the South and then made her way to Washington, D. C., where steps were being taken to provide buildings for the work which was being established at the nation’s capital. There was a new headquarters building to be erected, the Review and Herald must be provided with a home, a sanitarium was to be built, and a college established. The fact that Mrs. White made her home in Washington for some months, where she could give counsel regarding the work, as these four enterprises were gotten under way, was a great encouragement to the workers. It also exerted a far-reaching influence throughout the denomination in establishing the confidence of the church members that God had led in the transfer of the administration and publishing interests to the nation’s capital. {9T 3.2}  Testimonies for the Church

This was a period of rapid advancement in the development of our medical work on the Pacific Coast. Sanitariums were opened in National City, Glendale, and Loma Linda, California. From the first, Loma Linda seemed destined to become a training center for medical workers at some future time to do the work for the denomination begun at Battle Creek. During the critical years of the establishment of the medical college, Mrs. White made frequent visits to Southern California, where she could give personal counsel and encouragement, and could assist in the laying of plans for the advancing work. It was utterances, based upon the revelations given her of God, that led us step by step eventually to the establishment of a fully recognized medical college. So insurmountable were the obstacles that, had it not been for the faith and confidence inspired by the frequent counsels which came through the spirit of prophecy, the enterprise would never have survived. {9T 3.3}  Testimonies for the Church

These important interests that took Mrs. White much from her home and her writing, resulted in a great delay in the issuance of books she hoped could soon be in the field doing their work. The Ministry of Healing was the only Ellen G. White book newly issued during this five-year period. {9T 4.1}  Testimonies for the Church
The work of the denomination had by this time grown too large for us to mention in detail the various advance steps. The message was now belting the globe, missionaries were being sent out in increasing numbers, more institutions devoted to educational, publishing, and medical interests were being established. The message was truly reaching the ends of the earth. {9T 4.2}
Testimonies for the Church
It brought great rejoicing to the heart of Ellen White to meet with the representatives of the world-wide work as they gathered in Washington, D. C., in the spring of 1909 for the General Conference session. This was her last trip East—this the last General Conference session she attended. She was now eighty-one years of age and had given a long life of service to the cause of God. She had seen the work grow from the struggling beginning days when there were only a handful who kept the Sabbath and who looked for the soon coming of the Lord. Now they numbered 85,000, and there were 1,200 ordained and licensed ministers. As Ellen White stood before the General Conference, she was led to speak on certain subjects of great importance which must be reviewed. Among these was health reform. For forty-five years she had led out in teaching the great principles of healthful living which had been presented to her in vision. She had seen the fruitage of this teaching. However, there were some who still held back, there were some who were inclined to extremes, and so she reviewed our position and teachings point by point. This statement made before the General Conference forms an important chapter of volume 9. {9T 4.3}  Testimonies for the Church
Another topic upon which she chose to speak was that of the medical college of Loma Linda. She set forth the objectives of that institution and appealed for the co-operation of all workers and laity in making this work a success. This important statement is also a part of volume 9. {9T 5.1}  Testimonies for the Church
Mrs. White had seen the work of the administration of the church develop from a committee of three which was appointed in 1863 to take charge of the General Conference, to its present status of organization with General Conference departments and with Division and Union Conference organizations dividing the responsibilities among hundreds who carried the burden of the work in various parts of the world field. In her closing words she pleaded for unity and consecration. In her written statements she dealt with the authority of the General Conference and the importance of the actions taken by the General Conference in full session. She wrote of the distribution of responsibility and the need of humility and of faith. These counsels form an important part of the closing section of volume 9. {9T 5.2}Testimonies for the Church
At the turn of the century Mrs. White had begun to appeal for a renewed interest in the evangelizing of the millions in the great metropolitan centers of the world. These needs had been emphasized again and again in the counsels which had been sent to the leading workers. In response to these messages, interests in city work was revived. Large centers were entered. Many evangelistic efforts were held, old churches were strengthened, and new churches were established. To preserve the appeals for this work and the counsels as to its conduct in permanent form, an entire section of volume 9 is devoted to this important subject. {9T 5.3}
Testimonies for the Church
We were in days, too, when the various enterprises which were entered into called for the talents and energies of our lay members. It began to be clear that this work could never be finished unless the laity vigorously united with the ministry in carrying the message to the world. The work of laymen took on new importance. In the last two volumes of the Testimonies increasing emphasis had been placed upon the work of the laymen, and this is brought to a climax in volume 9. Following a picture of the last crisis and events to take place in the closing scenes of earth’s history, several chapters are devoted to the call for every Seventh-day Adventist to take an active part in evangelism, in home missionary work, and in the circulation of literature. {9T 6.1}
Testimonies for the Church
There were two other lines of detailed counsel which are represented in this volume for the first time in the Testimonies, though considerable instruction had been given through the years relating to them. The first has to do with the work among the colored people. The second has to do with the religious liberty work. It was largely in response to the appeals made by Ellen White in the articles in the Review in the middle nineties that workers and laymen pushed into the great Southland and began their ministry, some in educational lines, some in medical lines, some in preaching the message, and others in quietly living the message as homes were established in regions which had not yet received the light. Still others had joined in this work in response to the appeals in volume 7. The workers faced many problems. Plans must be laid for advancement. New issues must be met, especially those relating to the work where there was race antagonism. Through the critical years counsel had been given which served as safe guidance for the work, and to make this counsel a permanent record to serve the church, it was included in volume 9. {9T 6.2}  Testimonies for the Church
The religious liberty work was a line of endeavor in which we had been engaged for many years. Some were inclined to take extreme positions urging that true Sabbathkeeping meant that one must make it prominent to those about him that we labored on Sunday. In some regions this led to persecution. The Lord in his goodness sent messages to this people to give us a balanced conception of questions of this kind. These, too, appear in this volume in the section entitled, “The Religious Liberty Work,” opening with the chapter, “A Time of Trial Before Us,” and closing with the chapter, “Words of Caution.” So volume 9, drawing together counsels new and old, reiterating certain lines of instruction, giving details of counsel in other lines, encouraging to service, pointing out the dangers of extremes, leading to confidence in organization and pointing to the reward of earnest effort, became the cap-sheaf of the Testimonies for the Church. {9T 7.1}  Testimonies for the Church  
The work of Ellen White did not close with the issuance of Testimonies for the Church, Volume 9. Addressing herself more closely to her work of book preparation during the succeeding five years, she brought out Acts of the Apostles in 1911 and Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students in 1913. She also did her final work on manuscripts for the new edition of Gospel Workers and Life Sketches, published in 1915, and Prophets and Kings, which came from the press in 1916. {9T 7.2}  Testimonies for the Church
Especially did she take delight in the special efforts which were made to warn the cities, and from time to time there came from her pen messages of counsel and instruction regarding this important phase of our work. The steady progress of the cause around the world was marked by this now aging messenger of the Lord residing among the quiet hills of northern California. Although she knew her labors were nearly finished, she had no fears for the future of the work of God, for as she stated: “whether or not my life is spared, my writings will constantly speak, and their work will go forward as long as time shall last.”—Writing and Sending out of the “Testimonies for the Church,” Pages 13, 14. {9T 7.3}  Testimonies for the Church
As plans were laid for the General Conference session of 1913, Mrs. White would have been pleased to have attended, but in her advancing age this seemed inadvisable. Not being able to present an oral message, she wrote two communications to be read to the delegates and church members assembled. In the second message, which was read by the president of the General Conference to the conference in session on the morning of May 27, she reviewed the experience of past years, and rejoiced in the marked evidences that God had led his people. Then, looking ahead, she called for renewed efforts in soul-saving work and appealed again for the unwarned cities. Looking into the future she saw the triumph of the church and expressed words of courage: {9T 8.1}  Testimonies for the Church 
“I have words of encouragement for you, my brethren. We are to move forward in faith and hope, expecting large things from God. The enemy will seek in every way to hinder the efforts that are being made to advance the truth, but in the strength of the Lord you may gain success. Let no discouraging words be spoken, but only such words as will tend to strengthen and sustain your fellow workers…. {9T 8.2}  Testimonies for the Church
“My interest in the general work is still as deep as ever and I greatly desire that the cause of present truth shall steadily advance in all parts of the world…. {9T 8.3}  Testimonies for the Church
“I pray earnestly that the work we do at this time shall impress itself deeply on heart and mind and soul. Perplexities will increase; but let us, as believers in God, encourage one another. Let us not lower the standard, but keep it lifted high, looking to him who is the author and finisher of our faith. When in the night season I am unable to sleep, I lift my heart in prayer to God, and he strengthens me, and gives me the assurance that he is with his ministering servants in the home field and in distant lands. I am encouraged and blessed as I realize that the God of Israel is still guiding his people, and that he will continue to be with them, even to the end…. {9T 8.4}  Testimonies for the Church
“The Lord desires to see the work of proclaiming the third angel’s message carried forward with increasing efficiency. As he has worked in all ages to give victories to his people, so in this age he longs to carry to a triumphant fulfillment his purposes for his church. He bids his believing saints to advance unitedly, going from strength to greater strength, from faith to increased assurance and confidence in the truth and righteousness of his cause. {9T 9.1}  Testimonies for the Church
“We are to stand firm as a rock to the principles of the word of God, remembering that God is with us to give us strength to meet each new experience. Let us ever maintain in our lives the principles of righteousness, that we may go forward from strength to strength in the name of the Lord. We are to hold as very sacred the faith that has been substantiated by the instruction and approval of the Spirit of God from our earliest experience until the present time. We are to cherish as very precious the work that the Lord has been carrying forward through His commandment-keeping people, and which, through the power of His grace, will grow stronger and more efficient as time advances. The enemy is seeking to becloud the discernment of God’s people, and to weaken their efficiency, but if they will labor as the Spirit of God shall direct, He will open doors of opportunity before them for the work of building up the old waste places. Their experience will be one of constant growth, until the Lord shall descend from heaven with power and great glory to set His seal of final triumph upon His faithful ones. {9T 9.2}  Testimonies for the Church
“The work that lies before us is one that will put to the stretch every power of the human being. It will call for the exercise of strong faith and constant vigilance. At times the difficulties that we shall meet will be most disheartening. The very greatness of the task will appall us. And yet, with God’s help, his servants will finally triumph.”-Reported in the General Conference Bulletin, May 28, 1913, 164, 165. {9T 9.3}  Testimonies for the Church
In the times of the nine volumes of Testimonies for the Church written over a period of fifty-five years the church continually grew and developed and prospered. The counsel given afforded safe guidance, the reproof and correction led many straying feet back to the paths of righteousness, the words of cheer and encouragement revived many a faint heart, and the picture of the reward of the faithful spurred thousands to the determination to reach the goal set before us. {9T 10.1}  Testimonies for the Church
Looking ahead, we must ever remember the words recorded in Life Sketches of Ellen G. White, 196: {9T 10.2}
“We have nothing to fear for the future, except as we shall forget the way the Lord has led us, and his teaching in our past history.” {9T 10.3}Testimonies for the Church
The Trustees of the
Ellen G. White Publications.
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