Some have been holding themselves ready to find fault and complain at any suggestion made. But few have had wisdom in this most trying time to think without prejudice and candidly tell what shall be done. I saw that those who have been forward to talk so decidedly about refusing to obey a draft do not understand what they are talking about. Should they really be drafted and, refusing to obey, be threatened with imprisonment, torture, or death, they would shrink and then find that they had not prepared themselves for such an emergency. They would not endure the trial of their faith. What they thought to be faith was only fanatical presumption. (1T 357.1) MC VC

Those who would be best prepared to sacrifice even life, if required, rather than place themselves in a position where they could not obey God, would have the least to say. They would make no boast. They would feel deeply and meditate much, and their earnest prayers would go up to heaven for wisdom to act and grace to endure. Those who feel that in the fear of God they cannot conscientiously engage in this war will be very quiet, and when interrogated will simply state what they are obliged to say in order to answer the inquirer, and then let it be understood that they have no sympathy with the Rebellion. (1T 357.2) MC VC

In July, 1864, the national conscription law was so amended as to revoke the $300 exemption clause. Steps were immediately taken to secure for the Seventh-day Adventist young men the privileges granted to members of religious denominations who were conscientiously opposed to bearing arms—of being assigned to noncombatant service in hospital duty or in caring for freed men. Before a serious crisis was reached, these efforts were successful. In a few cases Seventh-day Adventist young men were drafted into the army and were assigned to hospital work or other noncombatant service. Whatever their assignment, they tried to let their light shine. Regularly for several months there ran through the columns of the Review and Herald a listing of receipts for a soldier’s tract fund to furnish literature for distribution among the men. (1T 717.1) MC VC

The experiences of Seventh-day Adventists in connection with the Civil War led them to take steps that secured for them a recognized status as noncombatants, which at the same time enabled them to follow the Scriptural injunctions regarding their relationships to “the powers that be,” which “are ordained of God.” Romans 13:1. (1T 717.2) MC VC

Pages 421, 456, Dress Reform—The dresses generally worn by women in America at the time this was written (1863, 1867), were very deleterious to health. They were especially objectionable because of their extreme length, the constriction of the waist by the corset, and the weight of the heavy skirts which were suspended from the hips. About a decade earlier a few women of national prominence initiated a movement to adopt a new style of dress that would be free from these serious objections. The new mode of dress was somewhat like the Turkish costume worn by men and women alike. The movement became so popular that for a time “dress reform” conventions were held annually. (1T 717.3) MC VC

“The American costume,” here referred to by Mrs. White, was a modification of the earlier style and was sponsored by Dr. Harriet Austin of Dansville, New York. It combined the short skirt, “reaching about halfway from the hip to the knee,” with mannish-looking trousers, coat, and vest. See description on page 465. This “so-called reform dress” was in 1864 shown to Mrs. White to be unsuitable for adoption by God’s people. (1T 717.4) MC VC

In 1865 Mrs. White, through How to Live, No. 6, appealed to our sisters to adopt a style of dress which was both modest and healthful. The next year the newly opened Health Reform Institute in Battle Creek took steps to design a pattern of dress that would correct the extremes of the short American costume or the ultra-long heavy dresses as commonly worn. (1T 717.5) MC VC

In 1867 Testimony No. 11 appeared with its first article, “Reform in Dress.” See pages 456-466. In this the dress question was fully reviewed and further counsel given. A general pattern was recommended as embodying the principles revealed to Mrs. White, and was referred to as “worthy of the name of the reform short dress.” No particular pattern was revealed to her in vision, and, when discussing the matter at a later date, Mrs. White stated: (1T 717.6) MC VC