THE VIEW HELD BY THE GENERAL CONFERENCE

The following action of the General Conference of 1883 shows how our leading brethren then regarded the matter of verbal inspiration:QUAN 2.2

“32. Whereas, Some of the bound volumes of the ‘Testimonies to the Church’ are out of print so that full sets cannot be obtained at the office; andQUAN 2.3

“Whereas, there is a constant and urgent call for the re-printing of these volumes; therefore, —QUAN 2.4

“Resolved, that we recommend their re-publication in such a form as to make four volumes of seven or eight hundred pages each.QUAN 2.5

“33. Whereas, many of these testimonies were written under the most unfavorable circumstances, the writer being too heavily pressed with anxiety and labor to devote critical thought to the grammatical perfection of the writings, and they were printed in such haste as to allow these imperfections to pass uncorrected; and. —QUAN 2.6

“Whereas, we believe the light given by God to His servants is by the enlightenment of the mind, thus imparting the thoughts, and not (except in rare cases) the very words in which the ideas should be expressed; therefore, —QUAN 2.7

“Resolved that in the re-publication of these volumes, such verbal changes be made as to remove the above-named imperfections, as far as possible, without in any measure changing the thought.” see The Review and Herald, November 27, 1883.QUAN 2.8