“In the night season many things are passing before me. The Scriptures, full of grace and richness, are presented before me. The word of the Lord to me is: ‘Look on these things, and meditate on them. You may claim the rich grace of truth, which nourishes the soul. Have naught to do with controversy and dissension and strife, which bring darkness and discouragement to your soul. Truth is clear, pure, savory.... Speak the truth in faith and love, leaving the result with God. The work is not yours, but the Lord's. In all your communications, speak as one to whom the Lord has spoken. He is your authority, and He will give you His sustaining grace.’” —Unpublished Letter, December 2, 1902.
(LS 433.1)
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These words were written about the time “Testimonies for the Church,” Volume 7, was in the hands of the printers. Shortly after its appearance, she wrote regarding volumes six and seven:
(LS 433.2)
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“I have been impressed to call upon the members of our churches to study the last two volumes of ‘Testimonies for the Church.’ When I was writing these books, I felt the deep moving of the Spirit of God.... They are full of precious matter. In the visions of the night the Lord told me that the truth contained in these books must be brought before the members of our churches, because there are many who are indifferent in regard to the salvation of their souls.” —Unpublished Letter, April 15, 1903.
(LS 433.3)
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But these volumes were not to be the last. There was much yet to be accomplished. “I must prepare books,” she wrote in May, 1903, “and thus give to others the light that the Lord gives me. I do not want to leave an unfinished work.” And during the same month she wrote further: “I am trying to prepare for publication matter that will guard the work on every side, so that it may not become disproportionate. We have many things in preparation for publication.... The truth must appear just as it is.”
(LS 433.4)
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In August, 1903, Mrs. White wrote to an old-time friend: “My health is good, and I am able to do much writing. I thank the Lord for this. I have decided not to attend so many camp meetings, but to give my time to my writing.... I greatly desire to write on the life of Solomon and on the history following his reign, and I desire, too, to write on the life of Paul and his work in connection with the other apostles. At times the thought of this neglected work keeps me awake at night.”
(LS 434.1)
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Mrs. White lived to see her desires fulfilled with regard to much that she had planned on doing. Her work on “Education” was completed in 1903; “Testimonies for the Church,” Volume 8, in 1904; and “Ministry of Healing” in 1905. Many “Special Testimonies” were prepared for circulation in pamphlet and leaflet form; and in 1909 “Testimonies for the Church,” Volume 9, the last of the series, was published. By the close of 1910 Mrs. White had given full consideration to all the problems connected with the reset edition of “Great Controversy.” That task having been completed, she found time to supervise the revision of “Sketches from the Life of Paul,” and to add several chapters on the life work and the writings of the apostles of the early Christian church. This matter was published in 1911, under the title, “The Acts of the Apostles.” The next volume to appear was “Counsels to Teachers, Parents, and Students Regarding Christian Education,” in 1913; and immediately afterward Mrs. White began the reading of manuscripts that were forwarded to the printers in 1914 for the new edition of “Gospel Workers.”
(LS 434.2)
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