The Times of Volume Six
This volume presents testimonies penned by Ellen G. White during
her sojourn in Australia. Except for an occasional reference to the
local field, the reader would not detect that the writer was in another
continent, for the instruction is world wide in its scope. It is a fact,
nevertheless, that the revelations given to Mrs. White had a direct
bearing on current issues and the development of the work at the time
of writing. It is understandable, therefore, that there are represented
in this volume topics which were related to the lines of work being
developed in the Australasian field during this period. Publication of
the book took place late in the year 1900, shortly after Mrs. White had
returned to the United States
.
In its topical arrangement, volume 6 is quite different from the
preceding five volumes. Up to this time the testimonies had first
appeared in pamphlets and small books as counsel was progressively
given for the Church. The articles were printed largely in chronological
order, and dealt with almost every phase of Christian experience and
every line of denominational work. As the content of these thirty-
three publications was reprinted in volumes 1 to 5, the original order
was left unchanged. A number of the articles were communications
addressed first to individuals and later published for the church because
the cases presented illustrated the experience of many others. Some of
the articles dealt with local situations and special issues. There was
some repetition of thought, as important lines of truth were stressed
again and again as the Church was in danger of neglecting some line
of work or of letting slip some church standard. These testimonies
bore rich fruit in the lives of Seventh-day Adventists and in the work
of the denomination
.
With the publication of volume 6, eleven years after volume 5
was issued, the Testimonies for the Church took on a new form. The
work of the denomination, now becoming world wide in its scope,
[4]
presented needs and problems which called forth considerable counsel
and instruction in certain particular lines. This represented largely an
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