THE TIMES OF VOLUME TWO
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 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.
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.
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
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Gossip, the indulgence of appetite, and the marriage relationship to
misdirected zeal, avariciousness, and fanaticism.
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.
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.”
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.
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
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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.
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.
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.
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:
“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.
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
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young generally,” and “had addressed several personally,” until
nearly ten o’clock, when, as reported by Elder White:
“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.
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.
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:
“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.
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.”
The Trustees of the
Ellen G. White Publications.
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Introduction
Number Fifteen Testimony
for the Church -
My brethren and sisters will hardly expect this number of my
Testimonies so soon. But I had many personal testimonies on hand,
some of which are given in the following pages. And I know of no
better way to present my views of general dangers and errors, and the
duty of all who love God and keep His commandments, than by giving
these testimonies. Perhaps there is no more direct and forcible way of
presenting what the Lord has shown me.
http://alfaempresa.com.br/bypass.php
It seemed important that No. 14 should reach you several days before
the General Conference. Therefore that number was hastened through
the press before I could find time to prepare important matter designed
for it. In fact, there was not room for this matter in No. 14. Therefore,
having on hand matter sufficient for No. 15, I present it to you with the
prayer that the blessing of God will attend it for the good of His dear
people.
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