I didn’t think today would be quite so exciting, as yesterday i had two big things AND two EGW Estate people showed very strong support for this 1858 Great Controversy book, but God, as usual, has different expectations than i do, and i found myself with probably the most amazing experience of this whole GC Session.
In the morning i had gone to the Hartland Publications’ table in the Marketplace, surprised to see them knowing how strained relations have been between them and the General Conference. It seemed to be a highlight tho of what i’ve felt during this whole Session — that is, a feeling of openness and less bitterness between those of opposing views. Maybe it is just my feeling, but i hope and pray that it is the real power of the Holy Spirit to meld hearts together 🙂 Anyway, the man there was very interested in actually BUYING some of these 1858gc books. I was taken by surprise, perhaps because he is the very first one to talk about purchasing these books since i’ve come. I asked him to read the Forward and other stuff that i wrote carefully, to make sure he agrees with it before purchasing. He then said i should call him next week, and it seemed to be in the vein of perhaps working together somehow, so i’m looking forward to doing that on Tuesday.
The amazing event was totally unexpected. I was kind of half-manning the booth at Living Springs for Bill Dull who had gone to lunch, and was talking with Pastor Poholka, when an Indian-looking man came up to the booth. He looked at the map a while, and i proffered a brochure explaining what Living Springs is doing in India. He then opened up that he was a MD in the UK, and had been convicted that he should get medical missionary training – so much so, that he has already tendered his resignation to take effect at the end of this month! Now i’m super-excited! First i take him next door to the Uchee Pines booth, where we talk with Don Miller. He had heard of Uchee Pines before, and thot that it might be the best place to get medical missionary training, and as he talked, his face brightened up more and more. Then we moved down to the Wildwood booth (all in the OCI area), and talked to the man there. That man just recommended the usual course, but his whole tenor changed when he learned that this man was already a MD – ha! He recommended that this man come for a “live-in observation” of whatever length of time would be necessary to instill the skills necessary to carry out medical missionary work in the UK. My new-found friend was now on a high it seemed, and we moved down to see Dr. Mary Ann McNeilus in the ASAP booth. Who should we meet talking there, but a man who runs a self-supporting medical missionary training school in India near Hosur, at which place his brother had been already! That man invited the UK man to come and help out. Then Mary Ann talked with and encouraged him, and told him her experience of switching over from a “regular” doctor to a medical missionary doctor. Then she prayed for us. You know, something just FEELS very different, when someone offers to pray with you. I didn’t see that happen near as much as i thot i would at the Session, so it was extra special to see it offered to this man who she had only known for about 4 minutes. I didn’t think anything more exciting could happen with this man, but when i offered him a 1858gc book, he looked incredulous and said “Are you the one who has the earlysda.com website”? I answered in the affirmative, and he told me that he had gotten serious about studying about Ellen White 3 years previous, and when searching the internet, he found my site and was richly blessed by it!!!! Wow! I’ve often wondered if all the long hours put into putting books and stuff up on that site has been worth it, as i’ve had almost no contact with people using it, but here before me was a live example of someone who was extremely appreciative of what i’d done! I gave praise to God, and we parted after a very joyous prayer. Oh yes, he said that the reason he came to the GC Session, is that he knew he needed to get this medical missionary training and work full-time for Jesus, but after walking around the place, he had almost given up, and had prayed desperately in his heart just a few minutes earlier that the Lord would lead him to someone who could help show him the way. Another “Wow!” moment 🙂 Thank you Jesus, and please bless this man, lead and guide him, and set him as a precious stone in your temple.
How delightful and encouraging!!! Keep up the good work my friend. 🙂
One thing i forgot to say:
In the afternoon i talked with Tim Poirier of the Ellen G. White Estate about what happened with the printing of the book “Steps to Christ”.
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He said that the book was first printed by Fleming H. Revell in 1892, (which i knew) and that the Stanborough Press in the UK wanted to print it in 1893, and as the copyright laws of the time would not allow them to print exactly the same as the American-printed version, the compilers got “material written by Ellen White” and put it together and came up with the first chapter. (NOTE: This is what i understood him to say).
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It still isn’t clear to me whether the Review and Herald purchased the rights to the book, or exactly what, but anyway, by 1896 they had the rights to print the book, and they also printed the first chapter added in the UK printing, which chapter we know today as: “God’s Love for Man”.
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So, according to this information — No, Ellen White did NOT write chapter 1 of Steps to Christ, but that it was COMPILED from her earlier written works, meaning that we must be careful with it, as with all compilations.