Certain Books to Be “Abundantly Illustrated”—Many lines of business will open up as the work is carried forward. There is much work to be done in the South, and in order to do this work the laborers must have suitable literature, books telling the truth in simple language, and abundantly illustrated. This kind of literature will be the most effective means of keeping the truth before the people. A sermon may be preached and soon forgotten, but a book remains.—Life Sketches of Ellen G. White, 381, 382. (See Life Sketches of Ellen G. White, 213, 214.) (PM 216.1) MC VC

Illustrations That Lead to Study—The Lord desires His people to move understandingly and intelligently. They are not to create large expenses, yet everything is to be done in perfect order. Our books should be bound with good, durable covers. The sewing should be firm and strong. This should always be. But care should be exercised in the matter of illustrating. Much money should not be invested in this line. When there are lessons in the pictures which lead to a study of the book itself, it is well; but when the pictures draw the attention from the truth contained in the book to themselves, the effort to help the book by illustrations is a failure.—Letter 75, 1900. (PM 216.2) MC VC

Artwork to Do Justice to Subject—The cut in Gospel Reader, Moses viewing the Promised Land, does great injustice to the subject and great discredit to those who accepted it for the book. What sort of an impression will it make on the readers of the book? It is not in any sense a correct representation of Moses. It looks more like a picture of the great deceiver, Satan, after he had lost Paradise. (PM 216.3) MC VC

Page 52, same book, “The Ark Standing in the Midst of Jordan”: see the cherubim on either end of the ark. What a misrepresentation of the heavenly angels looking with reverence upon the mercy seat, the cover of the ark. A child might take the representation as a bird hunched up. But when the ark was removed from the sanctuary, the cherubim were never exposed to view. That sacred ark, which represented Jehovah amid His people, was always covered, that no curious eye might look upon it. Let it ever be covered.—Letter 28a, 1897. (PM 216.4) MC VC