The Spread of the Message Through the Printed Page
By W. W. E.
We know there is nothing that cheers the hearts of God's waiting people more than to learn of the advancement of the message, the proclamation of which means the ripening of earth's harvest. From the very beginning of this advent message the printed page has acted a prominent part in its proclamation, and thousands are rejoicing in the truth to-day through this agency. But at no point in the history of the movement has this mighty agency been used to the extent, or with such telling effect, as at the present time. All classes of people throughout the whole world are having their attention called to the special truths for this time through our books, magazines, periodicals, and tracts. We give below a few letters, which are only samples of those continually coming to our publishing houses, that indicate the different classes of persons who are being reached through the printed page. The first one is from a minister in Missouri to the Kansas City Branch of the Pacific Press. He says:— “I have been in the evangelistic field for twenty years, and have had good success in winning souls. About three weeks ago a good sister in California sent me some tracts, and we have been studying them and looking up the scriptures, and I find we have left out one of the principal truths,—the keeping of the Sabbath. Brethren,—if you will allow me to call you that,—I am going to preach the gospel from now on, and I desire to know more about you as a people, and your mode of teaching. I should like you to send me some tracts to study so I can be ready for work when tenting time comes. The tracts I have are as follows: ‘The Seal of God and Mark of the Beast,’ ‘Signs of the End,’ ‘Thoughts for the Candid,’ ‘Heralds of His Coming,’ ‘How Esther Read Her Bible,’ ‘Back to the Old Paths.’ I am going to have a battle just as soon as I make my conversion known. And that will not be very long,—as soon as I get studied up so as to meet opposition. Bless God, it makes me feel as if I had embarked on a new ship.” The next letter is from a minister in another State who has been reached with our books through the faithful efforts of the colporteur. He says:— “I have had the pleasure of getting hold of one of your publications,—the book ‘Bible Readings,’—and find it to be the sentiments of my heart. It contains the very thing that I believe. I am a minister, and I belong to no church except the one we read about in the Bible. I have been preaching since 1882, and have never met with anything that has1201helped me along more in the study of the Bible than this one book has. “Will you please send catalogue of your books that I may select some book that will serve as a ready reference to a man who has not the time to peruse the Bible and get the testimonies bearing upon every subject? And if you have no agent in this locality, I wish you would place one here. I have ‘Daniel and the Revelation,’ and find it to be fine, and can recommend it to any one. I want the Bible testimony on all subjects. Will you please let me hear from you soon?” It is plain from the preceding letters that ministers are being reached with our literature, and are changing banners, enlisting in the message that is now world-wide and is attracting more and more the attention of all classes. The next is a very interesting letter from a banker in one of the Southern States. You will see from this how the truth is being studied by means of the printed page in the quiet hours of the home life; and this by a class of men whom we consider generally hard to reach. The letter follows:— “I beg to acknowledge receipt of your very kind and much-appreciated letter of the seventeenth instant, in which you state that my subscription to the Watchman expires next month. “I hasten to enclose a check for four dollars, to be applied as follows: one dollar to renew my subscription to the Watchman for another year, three dollars for a copy of ‘The Great Controversy Between Christ and Satan,’ cloth, marbled edges, etc. “Both the magazine and the books which I have at different times secured from you I consider absolutely beyond any monetary value to me. I do not hesitate to state that they have done more for my spiritual uplift and enlightenment than any other agency, primarily because in the privacy of my home, undisturbed, and with ample opportunity to reason and study, I see things which heretofore have been in darkness to me. “Your great work has my unqualified indorsement and praise, and I earnestly pray for God's continued blessing upon your efforts.” Next is a letter from a doctor in one of the most thickly populated States in America, and you will notice he states that our books have made a believer out of a scoffer; and the best of all is, he proposes to give the truth to others. This is generally true of those who receive the truth through the printed page. The letter is as follows:— “Enclosed find New York draft for four dollars, for which please send me ‘Daniel and the Revelation,’ by Uriah Smith, cloth; also set my subscription to the Watchman ahead another year. These two publications have made a believer out of a scoffer, and I want to show others the truth.” Here is an interesting letter from a humble soul who found one of our books in a second-hand bookstore, doubtless placed there by some one who did not appreciate it:— “I found a book called ‘Bible Footlights for the Pilgrim's Path’ (illustrated) in a second-hand bookstore, and have inquired at several of our bookstores here, but they have never heard of it. Will you please tell whether you still publish it, and how much it is, and18if you would make any reduction if I should take more than one or two? I think it is one of the best books I ever read, and you ought to publish it by the thousands.” We might go on giving more letters of this kind, but space forbids. These are sufficient to show that the influence of the printed page extends to all classes, and through this agency the message is rapidly spreading. Let us continue the good work. W. W. E.