Ellen G. White in Europe 1885-1887

The Council Convenes at Last!

Finally, by Tuesday, the rest of the leaders had arrived, and work began in earnest. The reports of the various fields came first. Scandinavian progress was encouraging—more than one hundred Sabbathkeepers had been gained. The Swiss Conference had not yet met, so no statistics were available for Central Europe. In Britain the increase of only twenty-two believers was a cause for concern. That afternoon almost the entire time of the council was spent studying how to improve the publishing work in England. Apparently colporteurs had been trying to sell American books. Now the council resolved to secure a few of the best Adventist books and thoroughly adapt these to English readers, altering style, spelling, and references to conform to British usage. There were some differences of opinion as to whether a fully equipped printing office should be established in Britain or whether the work should be hired out, but all agreed that the headquarters of the work should be shifted from Grimsby to London as soon as possible. London was a publishing center and the logical location for our work. Later in the week the council decided to double the size of Present Truth from eight to sixteen pages—another move to bolster the cause. EGWE 220.6