- Preface to Third Edition
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- A Review of Significant History
- Institutional Development
- The 1880's—A Period of Notable Advance
- The Setting of the 1888 Minneapolis Conference
- The General Conference of 1888
- Differing Attitudes Toward Righteousness by Faith
- Consolidation and Its Attendant Problems
- Far-Reaching Publishing-House Problems
- General Conference President Publishers Testimonies
- The General Conference of 1901
- Battle Creek Institutions Suffer God's Judgments
- “Except as We Shall Forget”
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- Instruction to the Disciples
- A Betrayal of Confidence
- A False Message
- Satan's Accusations
- The World Called to Account
- The Encouraging Word
- Words of Accusation Not of God
- A Work of Deception
- A Living Church
- Judas Given Opportunities
- The Church Not Perfect
- Satan Permitted to Tempt
- The Church the Light of the World
- A Divinely Appointed Ministry
- Beware of False Teachers
- Another Example
- The Letter
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- What Constitutes a Christian
- What Ought we to be?
- Frequent Cause of Failure
- Special Dangers of those in Positions of Responsibility
- A Daily Christian Experience Essential
- The Stewardship of Men
- The Office of Misfortune and Adversity
- Position Powerless to Sanctify
- God the Source of Strength
- The Evil of Self-Serving
- Evils of Unsanctified Consolidation
- Divine Unity Necessary
- The Preeminence of the Work of Saving Souls
- The Fallibility of Human Judgment
- Not to be Conscience for Our Fellowmen
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- Appendix Notes
The Setting of the 1888 Minneapolis Conference
One of the enemy's most effective measures was to lead good men to take positions which ultimately brought hindrance to the work they loved. This was seen in the spirit which developed in the hearts of men who engaged in discussions and debates. It was seen in the experience of businessmen connected with the cause. It was seen in the experience of missionaries going out to new countries, who, with narrow concepts of the work, found it difficult to move forward in the way God would have them take. It was seen in the tendency shown by some to depend upon the leaders at Battle Creek for guidance in the minute affairs of a far-flung mission work. It was seen in the way leading men at Battle Creek, heavily burdened with institutional work, attempted to give detailed direction to the work in distant lands of which they knew little.TM xxi.2
As the Seventh-day Adventist Church came to the Close of the year 1887, it had a total world membership of 25,841, with twenty-six local conferences and one mission in North America and four local conferences and six missions overseas. The General Conference Committee consisted of seven men, the Committee having been cautiously enlarged in 1882 from three members to five and in 1886 from five to seven. To take care of the legal business of the cause, the General Conference Association had been formed with a Board of five Trustees. Various branches of the work had developed into somewhat autonomous organizations, such as the “International Sabbath School Association,” The “Health and Temperance Association,” and the “International Tract and Missionary Association.” As has been noted, for two years, mid-1885 to 1887, Ellen White had been in Europe. Now she was back in the United States, residing at her Healdsburg, California, home. There were two publishing houses in operation in the United States: the Review and Herald in Battle Creek, Michigan, and the Pacific Press in Oakland, California. Each of these publishing houses did considerable commercial work to keep its equipment and personnel fully employed, and thus to maintain facilities needed for denominational printing. At each of these offices a leading journal was published, The Review and Herald in Battle Creek and Signs of the Times In Oakland.TM xxi.3
During the preceding year or two some differences of opinion had been expressed in articles appearing in these journals, concerning the law in Galatians. In each case the editors of the journals championed opposing positions. Ellen White, while still in Switzerland, wrote to the editors of Signs of the Times counseling against publishing articles with conflicting views. This message is to be found in Counsels to Writers and Editors, 75-82.TM xxii.1