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xxii
Early Writings
she was shown the duty of the brethren to publish this light. She
recounts the incident in
Life Sketches
.
“After coming out of vision, I said to my husband: ‘I have a
message for you. You must begin to print a little paper and send it
out to the people. Let it be small at first; but as the people read, they
will send you means with which to print, and it will be a success
from the first. From this small beginning it was shown to me to be
like streams of light that went clear round the world.’”—Page 125
.
Here was a call to action. What could James White do? He had
little of this world’s goods. But the vision was a divine directive,
and he felt the compulsion to move forward by faith. So with his
seventy-five cent Bible and concordance with both covers torn off,
James White began to prepare the articles on the Sabbath truth and
other kindred topics to be printed in a little paper. All this took time,
but eventually he presented the copy to a printer in Middletown,
Connecticut, who was willing to trust him for the printing order.
The type was set, the proofs were read, and one thousand copies
of the paper were printed. James White transported them from
the Middletown printing office to the Belden home where he and
Ellen had found a temporary refuge. The little sheet was six by
[xxv]
nine inches in size and contained eight pages. It bore the title
The
Present Truth
. The date was July, 1849. The little pile of papers
was laid upon the floor. Then the brethren and sisters gathered about
them and with tears in their eyes pleaded with God to bless the
little sheet as it should be sent out. Then the papers were folded,
wrapped and addressed, and James White carried them eight miles
to the Middletown post office. Thus the publishing work of the
Seventh-day Adventist Church began
.
Four issues were sent out in this manner, and each was prayed
over before the papers were taken to the post office. Soon letters
were received telling of people who had begun to keep the Sabbath
from reading the papers. Some of the letters contained money, and
James White, in September, was able to pay the Middletown printer
the $64.50 due for the four issues
.