Ellen Gould White (nee Harmon, at Gorham, Maine, November 26, 1827) was one of the first authors of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Indeed, she began writing for publication fifteen years before the church was organized. The amount of her writing—100,000 pages of material—has not been equaled by any other Adventist writer. TDG 5.1
Mrs. White's husband, James, was cofounder of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. He was also the first manager of the Review and Herald ® Publishing Association, begin in 1852 and incorporated in 1861. The couple were the parents of four sons, two of whom grew to maturity. Mrs. White survived her husband by thirty-three years, passing to her rest in 1915. TDG 5.2
The present volume is unique in that each day's reading was actually written on the corresponding day of the year at some time in Mrs. White's ministry (though not following her writings chronologically). As an aid to relating the respective readings to the events in her life and the early history of the church, a chronology has been added in the appendix. TDG 5.3