The Testimony of Jesus

Actions of General Conference

“32. Whereas, Some of the bound volumes of the Testimonies for the Church are out of print, so that full sets cannot be obtained at the office; and, TOJ 85.1

“Whereas, There is a constant and urgent call for the reprinting of these volumes; therefore, TOJ 85.2

“Resolved, That we recommend their republication in such a form as to make four volumes of seven or eight hundred pages each. TOJ 85.3

“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, TOJ 85.4

“Whereas, We believe the light given by God to His servants is by the enlightening of the mind, thus imparting the thoughts, and not (except in rare cases) the very words in which the ideas should be expressed; therefore, TOJ 85.5

“Resolved, That in the republication 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.”—The Review and Herald, November 27, 1883. TOJ 85.6

These recommendations were considered by the delegates to this General Conference, and were unanimously adopted. Later in the session a committee on republication of the Testimonies was appointed. The personnel of this committee is named in the following statement, which we quote from the Year Book of 1884, page 44: TOJ 85.7

“A committee of five to take charge of the republication of the Testimonies provided for in the thirty-fourth resolution, was announced as follows, the chair having been empowered to select four persons besides himself for this purpose: W. C. White, Uriah Smith, J. H. Waggoner, S. N. Haskell, Geo. I. Butler.” TOJ 85.8

This committee, of course, in carrying out the instructions of the conference, worked in close co-operation with Mrs. E. G. White. That these recommendations fully met her mind we may well believe, because this purpose possessed her through all the years, namely, to place her writings in the best possible form in which they would most clearly express the thoughts given her of the Lord. TOJ 85.9