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Colporteur Ministry
Exalt the Value of the Books—God calls upon His people to act
like living men and not to be indolent, sluggish, and indifferent. We
must carry the publications to the people and urge them to accept,
showing them that they will receive much more than their money’s
worth. Exalt the value of the books you offer. You cannot regard them
too highly.—
Testimonies for the Church 4:392
(1880).
Prices of Our Publications—Some things of grave importance
have not been receiving due attention at our offices of publication.
Men in responsible positions should have worked up plans whereby
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our books could be circulated and not lie on the shelves, falling dead
from the press. Our people are behind the times and are not following
the opening providence of God.
Many of our publications have been thrown into the market at so
low a figure that the profits are not sufficient to sustain the office and
keep good a fund for continual uses. And those of our people who have
no special burden of the various branches of the work ... do not become
informed in regard to the wants of the cause and the capital required
to keep the business moving. They do not understand the liability to
losses and the expense every day occurring to such institutions. They
seem to think that everything moves off without much care or outlay of
means, and therefore they will urge the necessity of the lowest figures
on our publications, thus leaving scarcely any margin.
And after the prices have been reduced to almost ruinous figures,
they manifest but a feeble interest in increasing the sales of the very
books on which they have asked such low prices. The object gained,
their burden ceases, when they ought to have an earnest interest and
a real care to press the sale of the publications, thereby sowing the
seeds of truth and bringing means into the offices to invest in other
publications.
There has been a very great neglect of duty on the part of ministers
in not interesting the churches in the localities where they labor, in
regard to this matter. When once the prices of books are reduced, it
is a very difficult matter to get them again upon a paying basis, as
men of narrow minds will cry, Speculation, not discerning that no
one man is benefited, and that God’s instrumentalities must not be
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crippled for want of capital. Books that ought to be widely circulated
are lying useless in our offices of publication because there is not
interest enough manifested to get them circulated.