Introduction

Introduction

The Christian must keep a continuous watch on the standards he or she holds. As we face the vicissitudes of living in a world with declining standards, and associate with church members who may be measuring themselves among themselves, our own standards, once held high, may imperceptibly slip.

If we are to look at the messages God has sent His people in times of old and in our time, we see how He found it necessary to repeat and repeat encouragements to His people to walk in harmony with His will. In our time this is particularly true of acceptable Sabbath observance, dress and adornment, and health reform. Since the issuance of the two preceding volumes of this series, some valuable materials, along these lines, found here and there in Ellen White’s manuscripts and letters of counsel, have been published in the Adventist Review and are now put into book form here. Some materials from published sources have also been included in the four chapters of this section.

The chapter presenting a grouping of materials on “The Propriety of Varying Attitudes in Prayer” seemed appropriate because some would strain applications of the counsel found in Gospel Workers, 178, 179, and Selected Messages 2:311-316, calling upon Seventh-day Adventists to kneel in prayer as a sign of reverence and humility. While the instruction calls for supplicants to kneel in both public worship and private devotions, Ellen White’s clear-cut counsel and her example indicate that kneeling is not required in every instance when the heart and voice are lifted in prayer. The materials presented are drawn from a wide span of Ellen White’s ministry.

White Trustees. [237]