05/2023

He Did It
Page 16

Lessons
Learned
Page 24

When God
Calls
Page 28

The Incredible
Story Behind
Adventist World
 10 To the The Synergy of Synchrony
Whole By Justin Kim

World A lot divides us as a church. With nearly 22 million members,

we are in constant threat of global discord, which is why we must
continuously emphasize what unites us as a movement. We
are united in what we believe about God: the 28 Fundamental
Sandra Blackmer
Beliefs. We are united in how our governance is conducted: the
Church Manual. We are united when we study the Bible with the
16 He Did It Sabbath School Bible study guides. We are united in mission, in
giving, and in service for Christ. Last, we are united in our global
communication through the journals of the Adventist Review and
Adventist World.
With other unifying events such as the General Conference Ses-
sion, camp meetings, and other regional convocations, Adventists
Jae Man Park
devote a premium to these resources. Why? Because of synergy.
Cover image: Pacific Press Publishing Association The world is comprised of nearly 200 nations, thousands of cul-
tures and languages, tens of thousands of people groups, and, after
18 Global View November 2022, 8 billion individuals. The church has been tasked to
Running the Race reach this entire world: “to those who dwell on the earth—to every
Ted N. C. Wilson nation, tribe, tongue, and people” (Rev. 14:6).
How can our movement do that, especially one that is unstable,
20 Discovering the Spirit of Prophecy
transient, division-prone, and full of fallen and broken human
A Look at Ellen White’s Bookshelves
beings? Vesta M. Kelly said, “Snowflakes are one of nature’s most
Tim Poirier
fragile things, but just look what they can do when they stick
22 Looking Back together.” Unity points our movement to focus, purpose, order,
160 Years Later resources, momentum, and ultimately, synergy.
Ashlee Chism What exactly is synergy? It’s the extra output
that is greater than the sum of its parts. In oth-
23 Millennial Voices
er words, if A and B are 1 each, but combining
Reality Check
A and B equals 5, that extra 3 is precious syner-
Beersheba Maywald-Jacob
gy. Unity isn’t some political, fluffy mantra, but
24 Feature a medium for productive results. And we miss
Lessons Learned out on this synergy when we work in isolation.
Ganoune Diop Not a national, local, or congregational move-
ment, the last-day remnant church is a global
one. With potential to overcome global discord,
imagine how much synergy is possible with
26 Bible Questions Answered
22 million working together. Furthermore, not
Two or One Message
only horizontal synergy, but imagine how much vertical “synergy”
27 Health & Wellness is possible when linked with divine resources. Not a homogeneous
Hypertension church of one country, one culture, one language, or one people
group, but “there is one body and one Spirit, . . . one hope of your
28 May I Tell You a Story?
calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all,
When God Calls
who is above all, and through all, and in you all” (Eph. 4:4-6).
30 Growing Faith Better is a house in synchrony than in solitude. Through the
Heavenly Housing power of the Holy Spirit and in the great love of our Father, may
we stick together to complete the mission mandate of Jesus.

We believe in the power of prayer, and we welcome prayer requests that can be shared at our weekly staff worship every Wednesday
morning. Send your requests to prayer@adventistworld.org, and pray for us as we work together to advance God’s kingdom.

2 May 2023 AdventistWorld.org

 News Moment

ADRA volunteers unload heaters provided through

ADRA Romania after a 7.8 earthquake struck southern
and central Türkiye and northern and western Syria on
February 6, 2023. ADRA was one of the first NGOs on
the ground after the disaster.
Photo: Nikolay Stoykov/Adventist Media Exchange (CC BY 4.0)

AdventistWorld.org May 2023 3

 News in Brief
More
Than
1,500
The number of Seventh-day
Adventist communicators, digital
evangelists, and influencers through-
out Chiapas, Mexico, who gathered
for a first-ever Global Adventist
Internet Network (GAiN) conference.
The event took place on February
17 and 18 in Tuxtla Gutiérrez. The
hundreds crowding the Chiapas
Convention Center, mostly young
people, were encouraged to em-
brace every opportunity to serve
the church with their gifts and with
tools provided during the event.
“After our working
extensively with
the community,
one of the largest
needs we’ve iden-
tified is mental
health. So we think
offering counseling
at an affordable
rate will help.”
—Paul Ranking, thrift shop man-
ager, about a new collaboration
between Avondale University and
one of the largest thrift shops
in Australia, run by the Adventist
Development and Relief Agency
(ADRA). The collaboration between
the two entities brings affordable
counseling to the local community.
4 May 2023 AdventistWorld.org
“The Adventist hos-
pital in Palangka
Raya will offer crit-
ical health-care
services to our
community while
maintaining a dedi-
cation to quality and
compassion. It will
be a place where
individuals and
families can receive
medical care and
emotional and spir-
itual support, which
is critical to healing,”
—Sugih Sitorus, president of West
Indonesia Union Mission, during the
opening service of a new hospital in
Central Kalimantan, Indonesia. The
51-bed, state-of-the-art hospital will
offer comprehensive medical ser-
vices to the inhabitants of Palangka
Raya and nearby communities.
General medicine, surgery, obstet-
rics and gynecology, pediatrics, and
critical care are among the services
the new hospital will provide.
Adventist Review
Newsletter
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“We believe Catalyst will
see the emergence of a
new culture of engage-
ment for our young
people in the church, so
they are equipped and
empowered to take
their place at the center
of the life and mission of
the church. They will be
a huge asset to grow-
ing our local churches
and church plants—this
is a tangible way to fu-
ture-proof our church.”
—Gilbert Cangy, director of the
South Pacific Division Centre for
Discipleship, about the Catalyst
initiative. This program is for young
people and others searching for
their purpose. The experience is im-
mersive: participants spend a week
in the wilderness before heading
to Avondale University to gain a
deeper understanding of Scripture,
to learn Christian history, and to
understand the uniqueness of the
Adventist message. The program
takes three months to complete.
More Than
6,000
The number of new baptized
members at the end of the Earth’s
Final Countdown hybrid evange-
listic series in Davao, in southern
Philippines. The hybrid evangelistic
initiative took place at the Davao
del Sur Coliseum in Digos City,
where more than 10,000 church
members gathered, and it was
simultaneously broadcast on more
than 27 Adventist radio stations
and eight television stations.
 News in Brief

“The Lord is coming, and He is “The theme ‘Love Is a Verb’

emphasizes the need of
counting on each member to putting love into action. It
is not enough to merely
speak about love or ex-
fulfill His mission. Go back to your press your feelings for
someone or something.
churches and share the fire you Love requires action. It
asks us to break out of
have received here. A fire always our comfort zones and do
something to serve others.”
starts with just a spark. If you —Ron Genebago, Southern Asia-

become that spark, it will even- Pacific Division youth ministries

director, about the 2023 Global

tually become a fire. Then we Youth Day (GYD). This year’s event,
dubbed “Love Is a Verb,” was a

will finish the work and go home, call to action for young people to
positively impact their communi-

because His light shall prevail.” ties and the world. Young people
involved in GYD initiatives were able
—Luis Rivera, president of the Puerto Rican Union, to attendees of a lay, min- to choose from a range of service
isterial, and Sabbath School festival. The event sought to acquaint pastors activities, including providing food
with the GROW Your Church initiative of the Sabbath School and Personal to the homeless, visiting elderly
Ministries Department of the General Conference. It also sought to support individuals, cleaning up the environ-
a church community that has been significantly affected by emigration in ment, and much more. The objective
recent years. More than 700 lay leaders from across the island gathered was to make an impact in the lives
at the Eliezer Meléndez Youth Center in the capital city of San Juan. of individuals who are in need.

More Than
12,000
The number of church members that
marched through the main streets
of Bogotá, Colombia, in celebration
of the church’s 100-year existence
in the city. Senator Lorena Ríos
Cuéllar of Colombia awarded a spe-
cial recognition to the Seventh-day
Adventist Church from the country’s
Senate Committee for the spiritual,
social, and humanitarian contribu-
tion of the church. The event also
saw a special inauguration ceremo-
ny of the Esperanza Colombia Radio
96.3 FM station, which was acquired
in 2022 thanks to the support of
Adventist World Radio (AWR). The
station reaches 14 million people in
Bogotá and the metropolitan region. (->)
Photo: Mateo Orozco

AdventistWorld.org May 2023 5

News in Depth
Explosive Growth Drives Adventist
Church in Africa
Andrew McChesney
“The Holy Spirit is moving in
a powerful way in Africa as the
Seventh-day Adventist Church
experiences explosive growth that
is giving members extraordinary
opportunities to witness,” General
Conference president Ted N. C.
Wilson said after a whirlwind tour
of eight countries.
Wilson, whose trip included
visits with heads of state and tribal
royalty, praised the faithfulness of
church members and said Africa
serves as an example of what the
Holy Spirit can do worldwide.
“God is doing something amazing
in Africa,” Wilson said. “We praise
His name for the enormous growth
and influence our members are now
having on society because of their
sheer numbers and faithful witness.”
The three-and-a-half-week visit
started in Zambia, which has 1.2
million Adventists and, in 2015,
was the first African country to
reach 1 million members. World-
wide, the Adventist Church has
21.9 million members, according
to the church’s Office of Archives,
Statistics, and Research.
After Zambia, Wilson visited
Kenya, Tanzania, and the Demo-
cratic Republic of the Congo. He
wrapped up the trip with stops in
Ted and Nancy Wilson greeting some of the more
than 5,000 church members who were attending a
meeting in Kitwe, Zambia, on January 28, 2023.
6 May 2023 AdventistWorld.org
South Africa, Eswatini (formerly
Swaziland), Lesotho, and Namibia.
Along the way, Wilson, accom-
panied by his wife, Nancy, visited
Adventist hospitals, universities,
schools, media organizations, and
supporting ministries, and preached
to crowds numbering in the thou-
sands in packed stadiums and halls.
“We had wonderful meetings
with our church members, who are
on fire for TMI, ‘I Will Go,’ and evan-
gelism,” Wilson said. TMI, or Total
Member Involvement, and “I Will
Go” are world church initiatives
that challenge every church mem-
ber to share their hope in Jesus’
soon coming with someone else.
Wilson also offered spiritual
encouragement in one-on-one talks
with such African leaders as Zambi-
an president Hakainde Hichilema, an
Adventist; Kenyan president William
Samoei Ruto; and Democratic Re-
public of the Congo president Félix
Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo.
Other dignitaries he met included
Lubosi Imwiko II, a Zambian tribal
king whose predecessor gave land
to the church where Yuka Adventist
Hospital now stands; Mangosuthu
Buthelezi, 94-year-old prince of
the Zulu Kingdom in South Africa
whose mother was an Adventist;
Photo: Andrew Silumesi/NKJ Media
Ted Wilson takes eight-country
trip to encourage members.
members of the Eswatini royal fam-
ily, a number of whom are Adven-
tists; the vice president of Namibia;
the deputy prime minister of Le-
sotho and two national lawmakers
who are Adventists; and a Kenyan
governor and a group of national
lawmakers who are Adventists.
Blasious Ruguri, president of the
East-Central Africa Division, whose
territory includes Kenya, Tanzania,
and the Democratic Republic of the
Congo, said he was especially moved
by the meetings with the presidents
of Kenya and the Democratic Re-
public of the Congo.
“It was a great blessing for both
of them,” said Ruguri, who attended
the meetings. “Pastor Wilson shared
a number of things with them, in-
cluding the closeness of the coming
of the Lord Jesus as seen by the
signs we all can see clearly.”
According to Ruguri, “members
felt highly energized when the world
leader read scriptures and quotes
from the Spirit of Prophecy showing
the important place they occupy in
the drive to finish God’s work.”
Gideon Reyneke, executive
secretary of the Southern Africa-In-
dian Ocean Division, described the
impact of Wilson’s visit as “huge”
on the division, whose territory
includes South Africa, Eswatini,
Lesotho, and Namibia.
“People saw and experienced
that they are a significant part of
the remnant family of God across
the world in the Seventh-day Ad-
ventist Church,” he said.
Addressing church members ev-
erywhere, Wilson added, “The end
of time is upon us, and the Holy
Spirit is moving in a powerful way.
Jesus is coming! Get involved!”

Adventist University in Argentina
Opens Creation Center
Marcos Paseggi, Adventist World
In March a new resource center
officially opened on the campus
of River Plate Adventist Universi-
ty (RPAU) in Argentina. The new
venue houses a museum and a
laboratory and geoscience research
classroom. Geoscience Research In-
stitute leaders and school officials
held a ceremony and preview of the
facilities in late 2022. During the
event leaders shared a brief outline
of the project, including its physical
plant specifications and goals.
Special guests at the ceremony in-
cluded General Conference Geosci-
ence Research Institute (GRI) direc-
tor Ronald Nalin, South American
Division GRI director Marcos Natal,
and paleontologist and former RPAU
GRI director Roberto Biaggi. RPAU
leaders also attended the ceremony.
“I thank God and the GRI leaders
for their support and active partic-
ipation to make this center come
true,” RPAU president Horacio
Rizzo said. “This center will exert
a powerful influence in our region
and beyond to promote a cre-
ation-based worldview.”
Natal agreed. “I thank the Lord for
being able to witness this moment.
This kind of project is extremely im-
portant for the Adventist Church’s
mission and the identity of its
members as God’s people,” he said.
Nalin also shared his joy at
participating in the ceremony and
emphasized its significance. “This
is another example of education
within a framework of the connec-
tions between science and faith,”
he said. The new RPAU GRI director
is Samuel Abdala, who previously
worked on projects at the GRI head-
quarters in Loma Linda, California,
United States.
Church leaders and school officers participate in the
ribbon-cutting ceremony of the new resource center.
After the traditional ribbon-cut-
ting ceremony, leaders and guests
toured the venue and browsed the
resources already on display.
“This center has two people
groups in mind especially,” Nalin
said in an interview. “First, stu-
dents, who often arrive at this high-
er educational institution without
knowing enough about earth ori-
gins. This place will provide them
with the knowledge, the didactic
and educational tools, that will
help them to find valuable answers
to their questions,” he said.
The second group, Nalin contin-
ued, is the general public. “Undoubt-
edly this center will generate a
network of connections with other
educational institutions in the area
that will visit the center,” he said.
“It will also draw researchers with
geological or paleontological knowl-
edge, who will be able to contribute
to the discussions. Interactions such
as these are usually very productive.”
Rizzo agreed. “This center is more
than a museum. It is a custodian
of local resources, with the goal of
increasing, from a scientific point
News in Depth
Facilities include a museum and
a laboratory and geoscience
research classroom.
Photo: River Plate Adventist University
of view, the arguments that support
a creationist worldview,” he said.
“This is a space that will welcome
area residents to explore resources
that are usually not so easy to see.
An example of these resources are
fossil remains to be displayed.”
Beyond the scientific approach
to the center, Rizzo emphasized,
“one of the stated objectives of the
new center is to acknowledge God’s
creative hand in everything and ad-
mire the bountiful evidence found
in our region.”
The new center will include
the David Rhys Museum and the
Geoscience Research Laboratory
and Classroom, and it will serve
as the branch office of Geoscience
Research Institute at RPAU.
The David Rhys Museum will
encourage the conservation and
protection of the local paleonto-
logical, geological, and biodiversity
heritage, leaders said. The Geo-
science Research Laboratory and
Classroom, on the other hand, will
help students to learn more about
topics related to biodiversity and
the earth sciences.
AdventistWorld.org May 2023 7
News in Depth
Adventist Church in Costa Rica
Inaugurates Radio Studio, Offices
Libna Stevens, Inter-American Division, and Adventist World
Seventh-day Adventist leaders
in the South Central American
Union Mission (SCAUM) inaugu-
rated studios and offices of Radio
Lira, a radio station operated by the
Adventist Church, during a special
ceremony in Alajuela, Costa Rica,
on March 13. Officials of Adventist
World Radio (AWR), a General Con-
ference radio ministry, and regional
administrators reflected on how
God had led them to the 9.8-acre
(nearly four-hectare) property over-
looking the city of Alajuela.
“This is a miracle from God,”
SCAUM president Ricardo Marin
said. Marin thanked AWR for sign-
ing over the property. “We praise
God for His goodness and vow to
continue spreading the gospel of
salvation,” he said.
A UNIQUE RELATIONSHIP
WITH AWR
Radio Lira, established in
1983, has a unique relationship
with AWR, one of its general vice
presidents, Ray Allen, said. “This
[property] used to be the center of
AWR for this region,” Allen said. “I
remember programs produced here
. . . being broadcast shortwave to all
Spanish-speaking countries.” The
studio building was the AWR head-
quarters of the Americas, Allen
explained, serving the Inter-Amer-
ican and South American divisions
of the Adventist Church.
According to Allen, they tried to
sell the property in 2004 because
several AWR offices had to close
in the region. “Anyone who came
to look at it would say, ‘No, that’s
not for me,’ and we wondered, How
come? Look how beautiful . . . How
can you resist a land like this? But
8 May 2023 AdventistWorld.org
God kept this land as if saying, This
site needs to be retained so you can
continue to proclaim the gospel.
In a sense, Allen said, “this is a
reinauguration. We have been here
before with God, and today once
again with God. May God continue
to bless this property so the love em-
bodied in the three angels’ messages
can reach many more souls for God.”
The signing for the property
took place in 2022 at AWR head-
quarters in the General Conference
building, in Maryland, United
States. Marin publicly thanked
AWR president Duane McKey
and former IAD president Israel
Leito, who were instrumental in
the transfer process.
SPREADING THE GOSPEL
Leaders believe that God pre-
served the property and its purpose
for mission. “Everything we do
should be about preaching this
beautiful message of salvation, and
we vow as a church to continue ad-
vancing and growing,” Marin said.
SCAUM communication director
Royner Ramirez oversees pro-
duction at Radio Lira, along with
Leaders tour the main production
studio at the new Radio Lira offices
Property was a gift of AWR to the
regional church administration.
a production director, a program
director, a marketing director, and
an assistant production director.
Together they keep the station
running 24 hours a day.
“We want to set up a proper
Hope media center right here on
this property to target viewers who
need to know about Jesus and His
love,” Ramirez said. A small tele-
vision studio has been set up, but
plans are being made for a com-
plete media center.
“GOD’S BOOMERANG EFFECT”
Miguel Lara, who has been em-
ployed at Radio Lira for nearly two
decades, said it is surreal to be back
on the property doing what he has
loved to do for so many years. He
began working there as a student
when he was 19 years old.
“I consider it a privilege to be
part of a place where so much has
been produced to spread the mes-
sage of hope,” Lara said.
In a sense, Radio Lira is following
in the footsteps of AWR, taking
steps where AWR left off, Allen
said. “I call it ‘God’s boomerang
effect,’ where it all circles back.”
Photo: Libna Stevens/IAD
Perspective
On ChatGPT,
Education, and
Compassion
Artificial intelligence must
move from being data-
driven to value-driven.
During a recent training I
attended on crisis management,
our instructor spent an inordinate
amount of time praising ChatGPT.
As I had no idea what he was
referring to, I sneakily looked it up
on my phone. ChatGPT, or Chat
Generative Pretrained Transformer,
is basically a chatbot, software used
for online chat conversations, pow-
ered by artificial intelligence (AI)
and designed by OpenAI, a research
laboratory in California, United
States. ChatGPT can provide you
with strikingly humanlike answers
to any prompt.
But there is more! ChatGPT can
write computer programs and
compose music. It can even write
essays and poetry. Demonstrat-
ing both its simplicity to use and
powerful outcome, our instructor
gave us a demo. All he did was
connect ChatGPT to Google Forms
and asked it to write the index for a
paper on “crisis management” and
some paragraphs too. After waiting
just a couple of a seconds, voilà! In
front of us was a remarkably coher-
ent and accurate text.
COPYRIGHT MATTERS
After I picked up my jaw from
the floor, I asked what any author
worth his/her soul would have
asked: “What about copyright?” Af-
ter all, ChatGPT was trained using
a massive quantity of data from the
Internet, some of which is copy-
righted material. It turns out this is
somewhat of a gray area.
At present, it is unclear if
ChatGPT alters original works suffi-
ciently to avoid copyright infringe-
ments. What’s clear is that OpenAI
is not liable for damages. So if users
are faced with a lawsuit, they are
pretty much on their own.
Copyright implications aside, one
thing is for sure: with Google also re-
leasing its own chatbot named Bard,
AI has become a part of our daily
lives, now more than ever.
SOME IMPLICATIONS FOR
EDUCATION
Almost everyone in my family is
a teacher. So, unsurprisingly, once
the training was over, my mind went
straight to implications for education.
Picking up the phone, I called my
twin sister, Inés, who is a headteacher
at a bilingual school in Argentina.
We talked for a while about how
AI will force educational institu-
tions to rethink plagiarism. But
Vanesa Pizzuto, Trans-European Division
Photo: Zac Wolff
soon we were navigating deeper
waters, discussing assessment crite-
ria and the core goals of education.
“I think AI developments will force
us to focus even more on emotional
literacy and critical thinking,” my sis-
ter said. “In a time when a computer
can give you an answer in a nano-
second, our emphasis must be on dis-
cernment, not content regurgitation.”
WHAT ABOUT THE CHURCH?
As a church, we have often taken
the simplistic approach of demon-
izing new technologies when faced
with complex scenarios such as this.
I believe this is a terrible mistake.
First, such technology is not going
to disappear, but also, the longer we
delay engagement, the more vulner-
able we are to potential abuses and
less able to impact society for good.
After all, unless the salt mixes with
the food, it cannot give it flavor!
In addition, we must advocate for
the value of compassion as a key
component of AI. Compassion is not
a word often associated with it. But
I hope one day it will be. At least, it
could be if we start teaching AI litera-
cy and ethics. We can ensure that AI
developments like ChatGPT signifi-
cantly improve our lives and our
society. Compassionate AI is not only
possible but also absolutely necessary.
Only then will AI be able to make
a significant contribution to our
mission.
AdventistWorld.org May 2023 9
Focus

To the
Whole World
The story of a breathtaking assignment
and an incredible God

A portion of
Adventist World
magazine
comes off the
press at Pacific
Press Publishing
Association in
Nampa, Idaho,
United States.

10 May 2023 AdventistWorld.org

 BY SANDRA BLACKMER

The interview with Bill Johnsson was done

on February 2, 2023, a few weeks before
his unexpected death on March 11. The text
remains as it was originally written.—Editors.

H
e had the date written in his calendar—February 18,
2004. William (Bill) Johnsson, then editor of Adventist
Review, had scheduled an appointment with his boss,
General Conference president Jan Paulsen, to discuss
a problem. But when he walked into Paulsen’s office
that day, the president quickly brushed aside Johns-
son’s issue and raised one of his own.
“We need a magazine, a common vehicle, to help
keep Adventists united throughout the world church,” Paulsen said. “And I
would like the Adventist Review staff to explore ways to do that.”
The specific assignment? To send the church paper to approximately
1 million homes worldwide at no cost to the members, and to focus first on
those world regions in which English is used. If funds later became available,
the publication could be translated into additional languages.
Paulsen then added: “There is currently no budget available for this plan,
and we can provide you with no extra staff. So after you’ve done all the
work, it could come to nothing, because the money might not be there.”

EMBRACING THE IMPOSSIBLE 1

The task was daunting, but “Bill was immediately very enthusiastic about
it,” Paulsen says. “What a wonderful idea—if we can pull it off,” he recalls
Johnsson as saying.
Johnsson’s recollection is similar. “I was totally surprised,” he says, “but,
frankly, very pleased.”
Describing the core mission of the publication as helping to “bind the
church together to enhance the unity of our wonderfully diverse church,”
Johnsson says he “personally felt it was a great need. A million thoughts
went racing through my mind. I was only a couple months from my sev-
entieth birthday, with plans to retire in the next year or two, but I let Elder
Paulsen know that yes, I would be behind it; and I would try to get my staff
to come on board as well.”
The idea for a global church paper wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment one for
Paulsen, who served as General Conference president from 1999 to 2010.
He’d felt a burden for many years to develop ways to strengthen unity
among Seventh-day Adventists throughout the church’s 13 divisions and
field offices.

Photo: Pacific Press Publishing Association AdventistWorld.org May 2023 11

 “When I came to the General Conference as a vice
president in 1995, I had already lived in several
countries and was kind of an internationalist. I was
always very concerned about how this Adventist family
was going to hold together,” he says. “It weighed heavily
on my mind. How are we going to hold together as an
international family, being as diverse as we are? The
differences between cultures are not marginal—they
are huge.”
Paulsen notes that a sense of curiosity exists among
church members about what the international Adven-
tist family “looks like” outside their own region. And,
he says, they wonder how those differences impact
the church.
The questions in the minds of church leaders as they
considered the feasibility of a global church magazine,
Paulsen says, were: What are the core values that define
us as Seventh-day Adventists? Do these values change
as they are transferred elsewhere? In my culture do
some values hold greater weight than in your culture?
“These are difficult issues,” he says.
“This was to be a paper that would nurture, inform,
stimulate, and affirm our shared values,” Paulsen
explains. “It was to tell our members that we are
together as one family around the world.”
“As the church grows and expands quickly, we need
to be sure there is something that reaches out and
embraces the new community of Adventists. In that
sense, it was also to be an evangelistic tool,” he adds.
CHALLENGE ACCEPTED
Johnsson then took the challenge to his staff.
“I called the staff together almost immediately and
laid out what the chief had told me; but I also shared
with them that currently there was no budget for
this, and no additional help would be provided. There
was just the vision, which might come to nothing,”
says Johnsson, Adventist Review editor from 1982 to
2006. “At the time, we went to press every week, so
we already had plenty to do. So, understandably, one
or two of the staff were a bit reluctant to take on the
project; but they quickly came around. The staff did
wonderfully well with it.”
Roy Adams, an associate editor, was one of those
who was hesitant to take on such a huge additional
responsibility.
“We were already putting through four editions
of Adventist Review each month: North American
Division, World, Cutting Edge, and AnchorPoints,”
says Adams. “And lurking in the background of the
relentless deadlines those editions entailed was the
fact that a General Conference Session was coming, an
12 May 2023 AdventistWorld.org
I was convinced from
the very beginning
that the Holy Spirit
was helping us to pull
this together.
event that entailed months and months of exhaustive
preparation, not to mention the “rat race” to cover
the event itself. And the fact that the directive came
with no promise of additional staff brought thoughts
of Egyptian taskmasters demanding Israelite slaves
produce bricks without straw.
“But once I got over those initial emotions, my
sentiments fell in sync with the aim and purpose of the
new venture,” Adams adds. “I’ve always felt that if ours
is a global enterprise, then our principal leaders ought
to have an organ for ongoing direct communication
with the entire Adventist community worldwide. That
conviction led me to put my shoulders to the wheel,
joining the rest of the staff in pulling off the difficult
assignment.”
Johnsson describes the plan to develop the global
church paper as multidimensional. The various aspects
included editorial, design, production, distribution,
finances, and its impact on the weekly Adventist Review.
The more he and the staff thought about it, the bigger
and more complicated the task became, he says. “It was
a breathtaking assignment, comprehensive, global in
its dimensions.”2 Printing possibilities needed to be
explored, not only in North America but in other world
regions as well. Johnsson also had to consider the ship-
ping options and how to get the magazine to the people
reasonably quickly. He realized he needed someone to
help with gathering all the data, so he presented the
dilemma to his staff during a weekly staff meeting.
Later that same day Merle Poirier, technical coordinator
for Adventist Review at the time and who currently
serves as operations manager for both magazines,
offered her assistance.
“Merle gave invaluable aid,” Johnsson says. “She has
a mind that is very strongly detailed, and she’s also very
good with organization. It was a wonderful fit for us.”
“There were no models anywhere that we could look
to,” Johnsson adds. “To have one magazine sent to the
 There were 1.1
million copies of
the first issue
Trust Tru Katsande

of Adventist
World printed in
September 2005.

whole world—maybe only Adventists would come up

with a plan like that,” he laughs.
The Review staff also needed a paradigm shift in their
way of thinking. Instead of producing content for a largely
North American audience, they now had to think globally.
“It needed to be a world magazine,” Johnsson notes.
“I told the editors not to use American phrases and
idioms, to avoid illustrations from America. We had to
find content that would play for the world church. It
was a very tough transition for us.”
Bill Johnsson, editor, with Bill Knott, associate editor (both center)
met with the Korean administration and editors to discuss the
THE QUESTION OF FUNDING Adventist World project. Elder P. D. Chun is third from left.
Along with the hope and the dream, there was the
practical question of funding. Where would the money
come from? Johnsson believes the Holy Spirit provided
the answer through Steve Rose, GC undertreasurer at Korea. Government regulations, however, didn’t allow
the time, and now serving as treasurer for the Chinese the funds to be transferred in hard currency; only in
Union Mission. won, the Korean currency. To convert to hard currency,
“Contrary to what some people think, the General the funds would be heavily taxed.
Conference does not have any deep pockets or unlim- “Steve and I traveled to South Korea and met with a
ited funds. It has a small contingency fund, but other- top tax lawyer,” Johnsson recalls. “He laid out the law,
wise, all the funds are budgeted out. So there was no and the conditions seemed impossible. To unlock the
deep pocket to go to,” Johnsson says. “But Steve worked funds, the publisher would have to be the church in
very closely with us, and his heart was in the project. South Korea. It could not be the General Conference.
He had this hope that the church in South Korea might And so we came back from Korea thinking, What’s going
provide the answer.” to happen?”
Church funds that normally would be transferred to P. D. Chun, recently retired as president of the North-
the General Conference had been building up in South ern Asia-Pacific Division, then stepped to the fore. “Let

AdventistWorld.org May 2023 13


Claude Richli, who
served as associate
publisher, reviews
proofs of Adventist
World Digest with
Calvin Joshua at the
Claude Richli
Oriental Watchman
Publishing House in
Pune, India.
me have a try,” Johnsson recalls Chun as saying.
Chun met privately with a high-ranking official,
who—after he listened to the church’s dilemma—said,
“Yes, that is the law. But exceptions can be made.”
Two South Korean publishers from the Adventist
Korean Publishing House in Seoul were added to the
editorial team, and the magazines for Korea were
printed in the Adventist publishing house there. Chun
became a member of the Adventist World board. So
with those adjustments the General Conference could
remain publisher of the magazine, and the money was
legally unlocked and used to fund the project.
“I regard this as the biggest miracle with Adventist
World—the way in which funds became available, and
quite late in the process,” Johnsson says. “Only the Lord
could have done this.”
“It was amazing how this task, which was almost
unimaginable, all came together so quickly and
worked—including the funding,” Paulsen says. “I believe
it was a product inspired by heaven.”
THE CRISIS POINT
The Review and Herald Publishing Association
(RHPA), in Hagerstown, Maryland, played a large role in
the planning and development of Adventist World. They
didn’t, however, have sufficient technical staff to cover
all aspects of the design. So Dever Designs, owned and
operated by Seventh-day Adventist Jeff Dever, was hired
to develop the initial template for the new 32-page
magazine with a look that would work for regions such
as Africa and Europe as well as North America. RHPA,
though, was to handle the monthly design.
“As the launch date for the first issue of Adventist
World loomed on the horizon and the deadline neared
14 May 2023 AdventistWorld.org
for the designed files to be sent electronically to all the
presses [in addition to RHPA, the presses included a sec-
ond one in the United States, Korean Publishing House
in Seoul, and Signs Publishing Company in Australia],
we realized we wouldn’t make it without help,” Johns-
son says. “That was a crisis point. We were to launch the
magazine at Annual Council at the GC headquarters in
September [2005], and this was early August. I was on
vacation at the beach with my family that week when it
became apparent that we had a big problem.”
Jeff Dever, at short notice, agreed to help, and took on
the responsibility to flow in the content and design the
magazine.
“Dever Designs worked day and night, and we met the
deadline for the presses,” Johnsson says.
Dever Designs continued as the designer for Adventist
World through 2017.
THE LAUNCH
The concept of Adventist World was voted at the
church’s 2004 autumn business meeting, and a pre-
sentation of its design was made July 2 at the following
fifty-eighth GC Session in St. Louis. The first issue was
launched in September 2005; and according to the min-
utes of the Adventist World publishing board of October
3, 2005, the first printing comprised 1.1 million copies.
An estimate for the annual cost was $2.5 million. The
minutes also noted five editions: Korea, South Pacific,
North America, Inter-America, and Trans-Europe. The
cover story for the first issue was titled “The Under-
ground Church.” With the magazine’s potential use as
a sharing tool, Johnsson estimated a possible 5 million
readers of each issue. The magazines were shipped
directly to the divisions, and the divisions then took the
responsibility to transport them to the various unions,
conferences, and churches.
“At the launch some people said, ‘This is an idea that
will be gone once you retire, and they’ll move on to
something else,’ ” Johnsson recalls. “But here it is, 18
years later. Praise God!”
When considering the fast-paced development of
Adventist World—from its conception in February 2004
to its birth in September 2005—Johnsson says, “The
Lord made it happen.
“Those months were very intense and involved. The
magazine took over my life. I would go to bed with
some challenge, not knowing where we were going,
and the next morning I would have the answer. That
happened over and over and over. This was of the Lord.”
Paulsen agrees. “I was convinced from the very
beginning that the Holy Spirit was helping us to pull
this together,” he says.
EXTENDING THE REACH
Although the first issue of Adventist World was The print run was
1.1 million, and I had
printed in English, church leaders were determined to
extend its reach by increasing the number of languages.
Bill Knott, who was elected editor of Adventist Review
and Adventist World magazines following Bill Johns-
son’s retirement at the end of 2006, invited Claude
dreamed of 100,000.
Richli in 2007 to join the staff. Richli was associate
executive secretary of the East-Central Africa Division
at the time. He had traveled extensively, was able to
speak several languages, and felt at home on three
continents. That background, he suggests, is the reason
Knott tapped him for the job of associate publisher and
marketing director.
“I believe he thought I would bring a lot of connec-
tions that would facilitate the expansion of the maga-
zine,” Richli says.
“I saw the magazine as having great potential, par-
ticularly in Africa, because many members there didn’t
have a lot of spiritual growth materials available to
them. I also recognized its possible use as an evangelis-
tic tool.”
Claude Richli

Claude Richli stands on the floor of the Review and Herald

During Richli’s eight years with the Adventist Review/
Adventist World office, which later adopted the acronym
ARMies, Adventist World reached a global distribution
in 33 languages (in print and online) in more than 150
countries.3 The total number of print copies grew to
about 1.5 million, using 19 printing and publishing
partners around the world.4
Today about 1.6 million copies are distributed to 10
of the 13 world divisions 11 months of the year and
published in nine languages.
In October 2020 the launch of a new WhatsApp
channel made it possible for the more than 2 million
Kiswahili-speaking and -reading Adventists to access
Adventist World in their language.5 ARMies staff also
now produce video and audio stories on how God
changes people’s lives.6
Recognizing a need for a church paper reduced in
length for some unions and smaller world regions,
Richli initiated the production of Adventist World Digest.
The Digest has 16 pages of adapted Adventist World
material and is produced quarterly rather than monthly.
“The Adventist World Digest was customized to fit the
needs and the financial feasibilities of local unions,”
Richli explains. “It grew very rapidly.”
Publishing House with pallets of Adventist World ready to be
shipped around the world.
was editor of Adventist Review was its declining circu-
lation,” he says. “That was what troubled me, and we
worked hard to try to bring it up. But the Internet was
coming in, as well as online publications. It was a losing
battle. When I took over the editorship, I used to tell
people that I wouldn’t sleep well until we hit 100,000 in
circulation. So we tried and tried, but the numbers kept
falling. Eventually I became reconciled: It’s not going
to happen. And then at almost the very last gasp of my
work, here’s Adventist World. When I saw that first issue
printed at the four different presses but the same maga-
zine, I was overcome. The print run was 1.1 million, and
I had dreamed of 100,000.
“That’s the Lord we serve. He’s a God of abundance,
beyond what we ask or imagine. Our God is truly a great
God.”
1
This subhead title is taken from William Johnsson’s book Embracing the Impossible (Hagerstown, Md.:
Review and Herald Pub. Assn., 2008) and used with permission.
2
Ibid., p. 215.
3
https://adventistreview.org/author/claude-richli/
4
Ibid.
5
https://www.adventistworld.org/millions-of-kiswahili-speakers-can-now-read-adventist-world-in-their-
mother-tongue/
6
https://www.adventistworld.org/media/

LOOKING BACK
When he looks back on his experience with Adventist
World and its rapid growth and world reach, Johnsson
Sandra Blackmer, now retired, served as an assistant
gives all the praise and glory to God. editor for Adventist World and Adventist Review for more
“The biggest concern of my heart the whole time I than 18 years.

AdventistWorld.org May 2023 15

Focus
He Did It
BY JAE MAN PARK
W
hen a new path
is being opened,
unexpected obstacles
are inevitable. The process of
launching Adventist World was the
same. Jae Man Park, editor in chief
of Korean Publishing House, met
and listened to the story of Elder
Pyung Duk Chun, who helped in
the laying of the foundation for
the project.
Park: From the time Adventist
World was first published until a
few years ago, you have worked
as the international publishing
manager for this magazine. I
heard that Korea played a part in
this project. What was it?
Like other unions and con-
ferences, the Korean Union
Conference sends offerings to the
General Conference, including
those from Sabbath School. But
these offerings have been tied
up in Korea for decades without
being transferred abroad. Sending
16 May 2023 AdventistWorld.org
moneys abroad was not possible,
because of the regulation of the
Foreign Exchange Control Act in
Korea. The amount was substan-
tial. It is a principle of the Adven-
tist Church that offerings should
be used according to the intended
purpose of the giver, but circum-
stances made it impossible. This
certainly caused many doubts, but
there was no way to solve it. Then
Adventist World was discussed.
How did the General Conference
communicate with the world
church then?
The Seventh-day Adventist
Church had and still does have a
representative periodical, Adventist
Review, but its readership is mostly
in North America. There was no
denominational magazine that
was distributed around the world
for free. At the time, there were
other ministries publishing their
own magazines and distributing
them to the world. Jan Paulsen,
Adventist
World
magazines
bound for
shipment at
Pacific Press
Publishing
Association.
then General Conference president,
regretted that there was no official
representative magazine of the
Seventh-day Adventist Church for
the world church.
As a result, a proposal was made
to create an international maga-
zine. The necessity of distributing
such a magazine came to the
forefront in an effort to further
unify the world church. Addition-
ally, a world magazine would help
members easily accept the 28
Fundamental Beliefs of the church,
share the latest world news, and
encourage missions.
So Adventist World would catch
two birds with one stone?
You’re right. It was a good idea to
use the offerings tied up in Korea
for this ministry. But when we got
to work, it was like belling a cat. At
that time the General Conference
handled the matter through a
leading law firm in Korea, but they
said they received only negative
Photo: Pacific Press Publishing Association
responses from the Ministry of
Culture and Tourism (currently
the Ministry of Culture, Sports,
and Tourism), which manages the
publication of magazines in Korea.
In order to publish an international
magazine based in Korea, more
than 50 percent of the publishers
and writers must be Korean. At
that time, I was the only Korean
involved in this project.
When did you discover this
difficulty?
I remember it was early 2005,
when I had already retired
two years before after serving
as president of the Northern
Asia-Pacific Division. The General
Conference Session in July 2005
was just around the corner. They
had a plan to distribute the first
issue of Adventist World during that
session, but we couldn’t even take
that first step.
To be honest, I didn’t like the
way the law firm handled things
when I watched from the sidelines.
Since they had been paid, they
might have looked into it, but
they didn’t seem to have an active
willingness to solve it. So I don’t
know where such an idea came
from, but I told the officers of the
General Conference and William
(Bill) Johnsson, “When dealing
with things like this, there are often
other doors open that most people
don’t know well. If you leave it to
me once, I’ll try to open the door.”
Then everyone asked with surprise,
“What are you trying to do?”
What was your suggestion?
I told them, “I can’t guarantee
that I will make it, but I will try.
If you can’t get through the main
gate, I’ll look for the back gate. My
apartment also has a back gate, but
people like to go around, so it is the
door that’s officially used. There
must be a door like that.” When I
Jan Paulsen, then General Conference president;
P. D. Chun, then Northern Asia-Pacific Division
president; and Bill Johnsson, then editor,
Adventist Review and Adventist World
had been having a hard time using
the funds at the Northern Asia-Pa-
cific Division, I had contacted a
senior official at Korean Financial
Supervisory Service that I know,
and said, “We have a problem, so
please help us if there is a solution.
I’m not asking you to teach us
illegalities, but to teach us other
ways for us to access.” I felt it would
be a loss to say everything about
our situation, but sincerity works.
That’s what I told the people of the
General Conference: that I would
find a way.
What did you do then?
I went to see the staff of the
Ministry of Culture and Tour-
ism. One of the directors in the
Korean Union Conference said he
knew someone he studied with
in graduate school who was an
auditor in the Ministry of Culture
and Tourism. So we went to visit
him together. We talked openly
about our situation and asked for
help. As it turned out, the approval
of magazines was not done by the
Ministry of Culture and Tourism,
but by the provincial government
office. But I didn’t have to go to the
provincial office. When he con-
tacted the provincial government
office through a phone call from his
office, a path opened up. After-
ward I was granted permission to
register. The problem was solved
without spending a penny.
When I told the General Con-
ference it was “OK,” they didn’t
believe me. The registration permit
was issued in July of that year
while the General Conference
Session was being held. I received
it by fax from Korea, translated it,
and delivered it to them.
And that’s how the stage for the
publication of Adventist World
was set?
Although we were not able to
publish the first issue in time
for the July General Conference
meeting, we started publishing
the September issue as soon as we
received approval. Jan Paulsen and
Bill Johnsson think I did some kind
of magic, but that’s not the case.
We all know who is good at turning
crises into opportunities and stum-
bling blocks into stepping-stones,
right? Yes, He did it.
Interviewed by Jae Man Park, Ph.D.,
editor in chief of Korean Publishing
House; Adventist World editor based
in Seoul, Korea.
AdventistWorld.org May 2023 17
 Gl
ob
a
lV
iew
Ru Ra
th
nn ce
e
ing
No
D
ist
ra
cti
on
s

E
xcitement was in the air as thousands of people from across Greece COMPLETE FOCUS
and beyond eagerly made their way to the grand Isthmian Games, Serious athletes take time to
held every two years not far from the ancient city of Corinth. practice and prepare. They are
In the spring of A.D. 51 the apostle Paul had been in Corinth for some careful. They organize and train
months, preaching and meeting people, including fellow tentmakers Pris- with one objective in mind—to win.
cilla and Aquila. Tentmaking was an excellent business, especially during It requires focus, determination,
the time of the huge sports festivals, as “the spring air [was] chilly enough to and discipline.
require shelter; and frequent showers and violent gusts of wind that buffet If you have run in a race, you
the Isthmian region make such shelter imperative”1 for the many guests who know not to even glance behind
flocked to the area for this important sports festival. Paul and his friends no you. If you turn to see how close
doubt had many customers, and through their business not only provided the competitor is, you will lose
shelter but were also given opportunities to share the gospel. precious seconds and may lose the
The games themselves were a huge attraction, and no doubt the apostle race. The one focus is the finish
heard much about them, and could very well have witnessed them himself. line. You cannot be distracted by
He would have seen the incredible dedication of the athletes who devoted anything.
everything to the one goal of “winning the race.” Paul points out that in the Isth-
Later he used this illustration when writing to the church in Corinth: mian Games, there was only one
“Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives winner in each event—no second
the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it” (1 Cor. 9:24). Here the or third place. Only the winner
apostle is referring to the Christian race. He continues: “And everyone who received the prize. He adds, “Now
competes for the prize is temperate in all things” (verse 25). they do it to obtain a perishable

18 May 2023 AdventistWorld.org Photo: Paul Bradbury / OJO Images / Getty Images
crown, but we for an imperishable
crown” (verse 25).
Winners at the Isthmian Games
received a crown of special leaves
encircling their heads. They were
taken to their home cities, where
a new gate was cut into the city
wall and named after them. They
received great honors, but it was
temporary. How long does a crown
of leaves last? Just a few days. A few
years later, people looked at the city
gate and wondered who the person
was that deserved such an honor.
In this world achievements are
very temporary. But you and I are
in a race. As Paul wrote in Philippi-
ans 3:14, we “press toward the goal
for the prize of the upward call of
God in Christ Jesus.”
God is calling each one to be a
part of His mission to reach the
world for Him. He does not want us
to get distracted in any way. And the
beautiful thing about the Christian
race and bringing people to the foot
of the cross is that everyone can
be a winner in Jesus Christ. As we
focus on this race, we are headed
toward an imperishable crown.
HEAVENLY REWARD
Won’t it be wonderful when we
get to heaven? There will be an
innumerable number of people
there, and by God’s grace you and
I will be there too. Christ will take
time to place a crown on your head,
and it will be an imperishable
crown. It will not fade. But we’re
going to take those crowns and put
them at the feet of Jesus, saying,
“Heaven is cheap enough.” In
other words, whatever I gave up
for being a follower of Jesus was
insignificant, because Jesus has
given me salvation and eternal life
through His grace and His blood.
What a wonderful opportunity for
us to share with Jesus our amazing
gratitude for running the Christian
race and not being distracted.
Paul goes on to say in 1 Corin-
thians 9:26: “Therefore I run thus:
not with uncertainty.” That is, we
don’t just run aimlessly without a
goal, “not as one who beats the air,”
he says, alluding to participants in
the Isthmian boxing matches. They
didn’t just box into the air; they
made everything count. Conclud-
ing the passage in verse 27, Paul
writes, “But I discipline my body
and bring it into subjection, lest,
when I have preached to others,
I myself should become disquali-
fied.” Brothers and sisters, do not
let the devil distract you in any
way from the race you are running
to have eternal life through the
grace and blood of Jesus, and to
share it with someone else.
The apostle John explains well the
purpose of sharing the hope we have
when he wrote, “That which we have
seen and heard we declare to you,
that you also may have fellowship
with us; and truly our fellowship is
with the Father and with His Son
Jesus Christ” (1 John 1:3).
Total Member Involvement is
saying, “Yes, Lord, I will go.” I will
be part of revival and reformation. I
will be part of mission to the cities.
I will be part of comprehensive
health ministry. I will be part of
community services. I will be part
of sharing Adventist literature and
the book The Great Controversy with
people. Don’t let anything distract
you from this amazing opportunity
to allow God to work through you.
UNITY IN MISSION
Inspired counsel tells us, “Strive
earnestly for unity. Pray for it,
work for it. . . . Crucify self; esteem
others better than yourselves.”2
Don’t allow the devil to bring
disunity into your local church,
family, workplace, community, or
your association with His precious,
wonderful church. Let self be lost
in Jesus. Let your focus be on Him
God is calling us to
be united in Him as
we press forward
towards the mark,
the goal of your
high calling in
Jesus Christ.
and on the goal He has. God is
calling each of us to be united in
Him as we press forward toward
the mark, the goal of your high
calling in Jesus Christ.
As you share this message, God
is wanting to use you in a most
remarkable and powerful way. Keep
your eyes on Jesus, and never take
your eyes off the precious Word of
God. Never take your eyes off the
instruction given in the Spirit of
Prophecy. Never be distracted from
personal prayer. Be a student of the
Word and be part of God’s people,
who are people of the Book. And
never get distracted from sharing
with others the wonderful Word of
God—the truth that has set you free,
the truth that has made you who
you are as a Seventh-day Adventist
at the end of time, waiting for Jesus’
soon return. Keep your eyes on
Jesus, for He is coming soon!
1
Oscar Broneer, “The Apostle Paul and the Isthmian Games,” The
Biblical Archaeologist 25, no. 1 (February 1962): 20.
2
Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church (Mountain View, Calif.:
Pacific Press Pub. Assn., 1948), vol. 9, p. 188.
Ted N. C. Wilson is president of the
worldwide Seventh-day Adventist
Church. Additional articles and
commentaries are available from
the president’s office on Twitter:
@pastortedwilson and Facebook:
@Pastor Ted Wilson.
AdventistWorld.org May 2023 19

Discovering the Spirit of Prophecy
I
n early November 1871 Ellen White
interrupted a letter she had been
writing to her teenage son Willie
to keep an appointment in Boston,
Massachusetts, with the celebrated
health reformer Diocletian Lewis. A
few weeks earlier she and James had
left their home in Battle Creek, Michi-
gan, for a two-month itinerary throughout the
northeastern United States. Now they were
staying at the Stratton home, not far from the

A Look at
doctor’s residence.
Resuming her letter to Willie after the
visit, Ellen White related how they had first
been seated on a sofa and then “elevated by

Ellen White’s
steam power up four stories. When up at this
distance,” she continued, “we were in the
doctor’s parlor. . . . We found a very affable,
social, open-hearted man.”

Bookshelves
With their common interest in the benefits
of exercise and the use of natural remedies,
Ellen White reported that their “interview
was the most pleasant. We chatted as
familiarly as though meeting friends of long
acquaintance.” During their conversation Dr.
Lewis invited the Whites to visit the famous
Boston Athenaeum Library, one of the fore-
most semiprivate libraries in the world.
Ellen White was captivated by her surround-
ings. “It is quite a sight,” she wrote, “curiosities
in the form of books of almost every date.
Some hundreds of years old. The style of type,
margin of books, arrangements of matter,
were a literary curiosity. Books, books, books
on every shelf, from story to story, of every
description, of every order.”1
Her fascination with the variety of literary
productions confirms what other records
bear out—that Ellen White was a great lover
of books, one who enjoyed the sights and
smells of old bookstores and the satisfaction
of finding just the right volume to add to a
growing library.
Ellen White also encouraged others to
acquire quality reading material, recommend-
ing, for example, Conybeare and Howson’s
Life of St. Paul as “a book of great merit, and
one of rare usefulness to the earnest student
of the New Testament history.”2

PERSONAL AND OFFICE LIBRARIES

Ellen White owned two libraries—a personal
one and one for her office staff. An inventory

Photos: Courtesy of the Ellen G. White Estate


of both collections taken shortly
after her death reveals that she had
acquired approximately 1,400 titles.
However, as nearly 600 of them
were purchased in 1913 from her
secretary, Clarence C. Crisler, it is
likely that most of those were never
used by her. A realistic number of
volumes that she had accumulated
over the course of her lifetime would
be around 800. Today the Ellen G.
White Estate has about 500 of her
original library books, the oldest of
which was printed in 1600.3 Forty of
them contain her handwritten signa-
ture inside the cover and occasional
marks within the text.
How do we know that it was
Ellen White who marked the pas-
sages, since she purchased some of
them at secondhand bookstores?
Ellen White had her own charac-
teristic style in the way she treated
her books, just as some of us
highlight and underline passages,
while others of us wouldn’t think of
writing on a page.
Unlike J. N. Andrews, who
corrected misspellings and added
further references while reading
a book, Ellen White had a style
that was much “gentler.” There are
occasional ink-stained fingerprints
on the edges of the pages, but the
printed text is devoid of any obtru-
sive marking. It wasn’t her practice
to underline. Rather, she made
simple vertical pen strokes in the
margins, hardly more than ¼ inch
in length, next to lines that drew
her special interest. Sometimes she
would make a small “x” beside the
paragraph or simply fold back the
corner of the page.
A WINDOW INTO HER
COLLECTION
What kinds of books did Ellen
White have in her libraries?4 Not
surprisingly, she collected books
on the topics that held the greatest
interest to her—Bible history and
commentary, the life and teachings
Ellen White was a
great lover of books
and found satisfaction
in finding just the
right volume to add to
a growing library.
Top: A book purchased by Ellen
White at a secondhand store.
Bottom: Ellen White’s marks in the
margin of one of her books.
of Christ, health, education, church
histories and biographies, and
practical Christian living. She used
many of them in her own writing.
While Seventh-day Adventist
authors are certainly among the
titles, the vast majority are non-Ad-
ventist authors. Part of the reason
for this is the limited number of
Adventist-authored books in Ellen
White’s lifetime.5 Ellen White did not
believe that any one person or group
held a monopoly on truth. In reply
to a question about his mother’s
reading habits, W. C. White wrote:
“I have been present when
conscientious souls would quote
what she [Ellen White] had written
as authority for putting all reading,
except the Bible, away; and I was
most interested to hear her state-
ment when her attention was called
to this. She took the position that
these things written by godly men,
containing expositions of Scripture,
and presenting Scripture truths, were
also to be included in our reading.”6
Though we must sift what we
read with the “gospel sieve,”7 not
mistaking error for truth, Ellen
White recognized that the Holy
Spirit impresses many and varied
minds with gems of truth in the
study of God’s Word.
This window into Ellen
White’s libraries reveals her keen
appreciation for good literature, but
she fully knew the shortcomings of
mere human productions.
“Of all the books that have
flooded the world, be they ever so
valuable, the Bible is the Book of
books, and is most deserving of the
closest study and attention. It gives
not only the history of the creation
of this world, but a description
of the world to come. It contains
instruction concerning the won-
ders of the universe, and it reveals
to our understanding the Author of
the heavens and the earth.”8
That Author still lives and is the
one we soon shall meet.
1
Ellen G. White to W. C. White, Nov. 10, 1871 (letter 17, 1871).
In Signs of the Times, Feb. 22, 1883, p. 96. She also suggested
2
J. H. Merle D’Aubigne’s History of the Reformation as an “interesting
and profitable” holiday gift book. See Review and Herald, Dec. 26,
1882, p. 789.
3
After Ellen White’s death many of her books were given to
Adventist educational institutions or sold.
4
The full inventory may be accessed at https://library.llu.edu/
heritage-research-center/egw-estate-branch-office/egw-pri-
vate-and-office-libraries.
5
A 1911 Catalogue of Publications from the church’s International
Tract Society listed fewer than 30 non-Ellen White English titles.
6
W. C. White to L. E. Froom, Feb. 14, 1926.
Referring to church members being cared for at popular health
7
institutions, Ellen White wrote that “they have to carry along with
them at all times the gospel sieve and sift everything they hear,
that they may choose the good and refuse the bad” (Testimonies for
the Church [Mountain View, Calif.: Pacific Press Pub.Assn., 1948],
vol. 1, p. 490).
8
Ellen G. White, in Review and Herald, Aug. 21, 1888.
Tim Poirier is the vice director of
the Ellen G. White Estate.
AdventistWorld.org May 2023 21
Looking Back

160 Years
Later

T
he May 26, 1863, issue of the Review would certainly be full of 112 years before those institutions would
news, especially after the conference in Battle Creek, just 55 move to Hagerstown and Silver Spring,
miles away from Sarah Philo’s home in Bunker Hill, Michigan, Maryland, respectively). Sarah could not
United States. She opened the periodical and nodded along eagerly as have known that, as of December 2021,
she read that the delegates had drafted, debated, and adopted a church the Seventh-day Adventist Church would
constitution. Why had they organized? Sarah read: “. . . for the purpose officially have 742 local conferences
of securing unity and efficiency in labor, and promoting the general and missions, 95,297 churches, and
interests of the cause of present truth, and of perfecting the organiza- 21,912,161 members.
tion of the Seventh-day Adventists.”1 Most people have not heard of Sarah
Sarah knew all about promoting the cause of present truth. She’d Philo, but the life Sarah lived, “devoted
accepted the third angel’s message just seven years earlier, at the age of to those truths which she held most
60, after seventh-day Sabbathkeeping Adventist preachers had visited. dear,”6 has a legacy of its own, 160 years
At first she’d been the only one in her area to keep the seventh day,2 but after the Seventh-day Adventist Church
Sarah led by example, and by 1861 a nearby woman was keeping the organized in 1863. Sarah’s patient and
Sabbath with her.3 In 1862 she wrote to the Review, asking for “Brother persistent seed-sowing resulted in many
Cornell” to come and stay a week in Bunker Hill, challenging, “You of her descendants also working hard
strewed the seed when you was here; come and see if it is not coming to promote the general interests of the
up.”4 And the seed had indeed grown! In April 1864 John Byington—then cause of present truth.7 What seeds are
General Conference president—oversaw the organization of an official you sowing today?
church in Bunker Hill, with 18 members,5 of which Sarah was surely one. 1
“Report of General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists,” Review and
When Sarah died on January 9, 1877, much of Adventist history had Herald, May 26, 1863, pp. 204, 205.
2
Review and Herald, Dec. 16, 1858, p. 31.
not yet happened. The Adventist Church had a total of 18 conferences, 3
Review and Herald, Sept. 24, 1861, p. 135.
4
“Extracts From Letters,” Review and Herald, Jan. 7, 1862, p. 47.
including the Texas Mission and the European Mission, where John N. 5
“Report From Bro. Byington,” Review and Herald, May 10, 1864, pp. 188,
189.
Andrews had been sent just three years before as the church’s first official 6
Hannah Janes, “Obituary Notice,” Review and Herald, Feb. 15, 1877, p. 55.
overseas missionary. Then the church had 478 churches and 11,708 mem- 7
For the example of her great-grandson, see https://encyclopedia.adventist.
org/article?id=D8BQ.
bers. It was just a year before Sarah died that the Western Health Reform
Institute had become the Battle Creek Medical and Surgical Sanitarium.
Sarah Philo’s great-great-great-great-
The church would not reorganize itself nor move Battle Creek College out
granddaughter, Ashlee Chism, a
of Battle Creek to Berrien Springs for another 24 years. Its headquarters trained archivist, works in the General
and the Review and Herald Publishing Association would not move to Conference Office of Archives, Statistics,
Washington, D.C., for several years beyond that (and it would be 106 and and Research.

Photo: Galeanu Mihai / iStock /

22 May 2023 AdventistWorld.org Getty Images Plus / Getty Images

Millennial Voices
Reality
Check
I
t seems unreal!” Have you ever
received a similar response from a
person you were hoping to encour-
age? Or from someone you were trying
to cheer up? “Unreal” was not something
I was prepared to counter. I had no
words to follow this statement, so I lis-
tened and asked myself if I was pitching
something that was too far-fetched.
During the past few months I have
treasured the interaction with my fellow
students in Ukraine. I have the privilege
of teaching them English online as part of
Hope grows my scholarship work here at AIIAS. The
Level 2 English classes commenced online
in the most in August of 2022, with hopes to continue
face to face within a couple of months.
unlikely places. But then their paperwork dragged on, and
It breathes the Ukrainian students’ hopes to be at
AIIAS began to dwindle away. We started
life into the out as a class with five students, and by
weary and November of last year there were two who
chose to continue studying.
brokenhearted. In an attempt to encourage them, I
shared devotional thoughts focused on
Bible passages that would bring comfort and hope. We would spend
some time sharing our current experiences or prayer requests. At times
I would describe life in the Philippines, especially life here at AIIAS. I
would speak of blue skies, warm weather, a green campus, showers of
rain, a park for their children to play in, and so on, hoping to bring life
to the picture they had of AIIAS.
“Unreal”: the response of one of my fellow students hurled me to
a reality check. Compared to their reality, what I was sharing seemed
unreal. For me, a person who is prag-
matic, who easily spots what’s missing,
who dissects and overanalyzes situa-
tions, hope can fade in an instant. Would
I be able to see the Shepherd in the
midst of the chaos my fellow students
were experiencing? In the midst of an
airstrike, with continuous power cuts
and lack of heating, would I still see the
Shepherd who protects and provides?
Would my hope stand firm?
I have recently been learning that
being hopeful is a choice. When we
find ourselves up against giants, we can
choose to abide in or abandon this hope
we profess to hold on to. Hope grows
in the most unlikely places. It breathes
life into the weary and brokenhearted.
Hope is the olive branch in the beak
of the dove after an apocalypse. Hope
comes to life when we reach the end of
ourselves and find our lives in the hands
of Someone so much bigger than we are.
The hope we have in Jesus Christ is
sure, true, eternal, personal, and avail-
able for all who are willing to choose it.
Our hope comes from God. His promises
are eternal, for He never changes.
In the face of daunting circumstances, I
pray that I will have an “unreal” hope.
Beersheba Maywald-Jacob is a Ph.D.
student in intercultural studies and
mission at the Adventist International
Institute of Advanced Studies (AIIAS)
in Silang, Philippines. She is married to
Andrew and has a newborn.
AdventistWorld.org May 2023 23
Feature

Lessons
Learned
What can happen when the Bible is misread „The era of mediation has
ended. Jesus assumed all the func-
and people’s freedoms are abused. tions of God’s previous representa-
tives. Jesus (God) is the only king
(son of David), the only priest (son

T
of Abraham), and the only sacrifice.
hirty years ago on April 19, 1993, horrible images shocked the world. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the
Members of an end-time apocalyptic cult in Waco, Texas, United life (John 14:6).
States, perished in flames. Many of them chose to die because they „ Leaders of so-called reform
believed it was a necessary part of purification by fire before the Advent Adventists who claim to have
of the kingdom of God (Dan. 8:14, KJV). One woman, according to eyewit- been designated by God to lead
nesses, emerged from the flames but tried to return in order to fulfill the God’s end-time people falsely
mission to die. She would have if not prevented by a federal agent. assume God’s unique rights. Only
Eighty-two men, women, and children died in that fire all because one God is qualified to lead His people.
individual claimed to have been chosen by God to reveal end-time secrets of „ Only God can bring about
the seals in the book of Revelation. He maintained he was not only the sev- revival and reformation. Revelation
enth angel of the trumpets but also the “lamb of God himself.” This splinter repeatedly admonishes: “He who
group of the Seventh-day Adventist Church ended in an incredible tragedy. has an ear, let him hear what the
Spirit says to the churches” (Rev. 2:7,
LEADING PEOPLE ASTRAY 11, 17, 29; 3:6, 13, 22). No human
Offshoots or splinter groups often begin because one or more individuals can take the place of the Godhead.
break in their understanding of what the church teaches. Eventually they are Christ is alive. The Holy Spirit is the
disfellowshipped from their local church because their teachings become too living omnipresent Spirit of God.
extreme. Then they determine to reform the very church they left because „ Leaders of apocalyptic
they believe it is the church that has apostatized, not them. Next they focus end-time sects misinterpret the
on recruiting other Seventh-day Adventists on the pretense of forming what Bible. They use and abuse words of
they believe to be the future 144,000. This leads to a need for a future move authority. They assert and domi-
to Jerusalem, where the new kingdom of God will be established. nate instead of serving—exactly
How can a tragedy like the one that occurred in Waco be avoided? Under- the opposite of what Jesus said
standing the following lessons can help to prevent us from drifting from should be done.
genuine biblical faith. „ No one has exclusive
The absolute principle of the Seventh-day Adventist faith is the
„ secrets on the interpretation
supremacy and sufficiency of Jesus Christ. All heresies, ancient or modern, of apocalyptic texts. Be careful
diminish or assume the absolute rights of Jesus, the only Lord and Savior. when someone says only they can
„ Jesus Christ is our only hope (1 Tim. 1:1). This is foundational to the interpret Scripture. The Bible is
Advent movement. given to all to study and learn of
No one should submit his or her conscience to the control of any
„ God’s will for His people (Rom.
other person. Do not follow any human being, but God alone. God has 12:2; 2 Tim. 3:14-17; Acts 17:11;
direct access to us, and we have direct access to God. Eph. 6:11-17).

24 May 2023 AdventistWorld.org Photo: United States Government


„ God wants to save people,
even His enemies. Beware of
those who claim to be the only
faithful and chosen ones tasked
with punishing the wicked—those
who do not think like them.
„ Love is absent from their
narrative and literature. The
main language used is fear, often
violence, and announcements of
destruction for the wicked. God
doesn’t want the wicked to perish,
but to repent and be saved. God
wants all people to come to the
knowledge of the truth (1 Tim. 2).
„ Belonging to a sect, apoc-
alyptic cult, or church is not
equivalent to being saved. Jesus
is the only Savior. Salvation comes
from the Lord.
„ How one reads the Bible and
the methodology used is critical.
For example, the misreading of Psalm
45 led Vernon Howell (aka David
Koresh) to claim he had to take his
followers’ wives in order to produce
24 children to be princes in the new
kingdom. In addition, his belief
and misinterpretation of the seven
seals of Revelation and the seventh
angel led to the catastrophic outcome
at the compound in Waco, Texas.
„ It is important to maintain
one’s freedom of conscience. No
one should be coerced or fright-
ened into their beliefs. Only God is
worthy to be followed.
„ The Seventh-day Adven-
tist Church cannot be held
responsible for offshoots who
claim the name Seventh-day
Adventist but drift into extrem-
ism. The church is protected by
clearly articulated official state-
ments voted at General Conference
Session, the executive committee
of the General Conference, and the
administrative committee. Official
documents include the 28 Fun-
damental Beliefs, working policy,
and the Church Manual. These
prevent any one person or group
seizing the right to control minds
or impose goals found outside the
mission of the church.
To those tempted to follow leaders
who claim to represent God, may I
remind you that if someone is being
guided by God, one of the clearest
pieces of evidence is revealed in
the fruit of the Holy Spirit: “love,
joy, peace, patience, kindness,
generosity, faithfulness, gentleness,
and self-control” (Galatians 5:22, 23,
NRSV). The fruit of the Holy Spirit
is incompatible with violence and/
or controlling minds created in the
image of God. May “the peace of God,
which surpasses all understanding,”
keep our hearts and minds in Christ
Jesus (Phil. 4:7).
Ganoune Diop, Ph.D., is the director of
Public Affairs and Religious Liberty at
the General Conference of Seventh-day
Adventists. Visit www.adventistliberty.
org/tragic-end-of-an-apocalyptic-sect-
at-waco,-texas#_ftn2 for full article.
What
Happened
in Waco,
Texas?
I
n the 1930s a man dissatisfied
with the Seventh-day Adventist
Church broke away and founded
his own movement called the David-
ians. After he died, another man
took control, renaming it the Branch
Davidians. By 1962 this group had
settled on a large compound in
Waco, Texas.
The sect searched the Bible for
clues on how the world would end,
particularly studying the book of
Revelation. In 1978 the second
leader died, leaving his wife to lead
the group as a “prophetess.” Several
years later Vernon Howell arrived at
the compound. He became involved
with the former leader’s wife, even-
tually taking full control in 1990.
Howell changed his name to David
Koresh, claiming to be a “messiah”
and “the lamb” in Revelation that
could open the seals of the book of
Revelation. Some of his practices
included taking many “spiritual
wives” from among his followers to
father his children.
Eventually the United States
government confronted the Branch
Davidians on charges related to the
violation of firearm regulations as
well as child abuse. A siege resulted,
lasting 51 days before federal
agents moved in. As a result, fire
broke out, destroying the compound
and killing 82, including more than
25 children. It was later discovered
that some inside had died by fatal
gunshot wounds.
During the siege four federal
agents were killed in a gun battle,
making the total number who died
at Waco 86.
AdventistWorld.org May 2023 25
 Bible Questions Answered
Two or One
Message
Paul preached to Jews and
Q
Gentiles. Which aspects of his
message did he emphasize
when speaking to each one?
A
I can provide you only a sample of Paul’s approach to
Jews and Gentiles that would hopefully motivate you
to study the subject in more detail on your own. I will
comment on one passage in which Paul addresses the
Jews and another that is addressed to a predominantly
Gentile community. I use the passages as examples.
1. TO THE JEWS
The first text is Acts 17:2, 3: “Then Paul, as his custom
was, went in to them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned
with them from the Scriptures, explaining and demon-
strating that the Christ had to suffer and rise again
from the dead, and saying, ‘This Jesus whom I preach to
you is the Christ.’ ” The message contains the following
elements. 1. It was based on the Scriptures, a common
source of authority, and thus facilitated the dialogue.
2. It was about “the Christ,” the promised Messiah, the
hope of Israel. 3. It was about the biblical suffering
Messiah—His death, resurrection, exaltation, and His
second coming (cf. Acts 3:20). 4. It was about the fulfill-
ment of the messianic prophecies in the person, work,
and experience of a man called Jesus. Paul proclaimed
to the Jews “the Christ.”
2. TO THE GENTILES
Writing to Gentiles, Paul states: “You turned to God
from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait
for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from dead—
Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath” (1 Thess.
1:9, 10, NIV). His message to them contained at least the
following elements. 1. Proclamation of a monotheistic
26 May 2023 AdventistWorld.org
faith—the worship of the true God. 2. The death and
resurrection of Jesus, the Son of God, implying that
Paul told them about the person and ministry of Jesus
and shared with them the significance of His death on
the cross. He gave them the gospel of salvation—Christ
“died for us” (1 Thess. 5:10, NIV). 3. Christ’s coming from
heaven—this also implies that Paul taught the Gentile
converts about the ascension of Jesus. The message
contained a significant dosage of Christian eschatolog-
ical expectation. It was a message of hope that pointed
to the future, to the time the Son of God, Jesus, would
return. 4. Paul offered them an apocalyptic worldview
with two main components: First, the soon return of
Jesus to consummate their salvation—a movement from
the cross to glory—and second, their deliverance from
the wrath of God at the final judgment and the destruc-
tion of the wicked (1 Thess. 1:4-7).
3. THE CORE OF THE MESSAGE
It is clear that the message of Paul was fundamen-
tally the same for Jews and Gentiles: The gospel of
salvation through faith in Jesus, the Messiah. Jesus was
understood to be the Jewish/biblical Messiah and the
Savior of the world in that He died for both Jews and
Gentiles. With the conversion of the Gentiles the work
of instruction had just began. It was important for them
to understand the full implications of accepting that
there was one God and to live in the expectation of the
coming of Jesus, who, through His death and resurrec-
tion, saved them.
Ángel Manuel Rodríguez, Th.D., is retired after a career
serving as pastor, professor, and theologian.
Health & Wellness

Hypertension
How Can I Control My
Blood Pressure?

I am a university student in a low- to middle-income country. Both encouraged: 150 minutes of moderate
my parents have high blood pressure (hypertension). They take their aerobic exercise or 75 minutes of
medications semiregularly, but what other measures will help them vigorous aerobic exercise each week
(and potentially me) control blood pressure? is recommended. Aim for at least 30

T
minutes of exercise each day.
he most effective and safest approach to managing hypertension The Dietary Approaches to Stop
is the combination of medication and a healthy lifestyle. Elevated Hypertension (DASH) diet and the DASH
blood pressure is a serious condition that significantly increases Low Sodium studies3 confirmed the
the risk of heart disease, stroke, and kidney failure. World Health Orga- importance of nutrition in the manage-
nization (WHO) statistics1 estimate that 1.28 billion adults worldwide ment of hypertension. The DASH diet
have hypertension, with two thirds living in low- and middle-income emphasized consuming more fruits and
countries. Hypertension is a leading cause of premature death. vegetables, reducing foods with satu-
Less than half of the adults who have hypertension are on treat- rated and trans fats, and reducing total
ment. Approximately half of the individuals in the world who do have salt intake to less than one teaspoon of
hypertension are unaware of the diagnosis, and of those who are on salt (sodium chloride) per day.
treatment only 20 percent have their blood pressure adequately con- There are ongoing discussions regard-
trolled. In more than 90 percent of cases there is no specific identifiable ing salt and salt sensitivity, but the
cause. Hypertension is largely genetically determined but significantly overall recommendation for best health
influenced by lifestyle choices. outcomes is to cut back on sodium
Hypertension has been called the silent killer, as those who have intake whether one has hypertension
high blood pressure often have no symptoms. When symptoms do or not. Read food labels and go easy on
occur, they may be severe in nature and associated with heart attacks, adding salt to your food.
stroke, or kidney damage. It is therefore important that screening be Jesus calls us to be “the salt of the
intentionally and regularly done to identify those at risk. earth” (Matt. 5:13). Consume it, however,
This is an ideal opportunity for our church congregations to serve in limited quantities!
communities with health screening and health education programs. 1
https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/hypertension
Healthy lifestyle choices are essential for wellbeing in general, but even https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/344424/9789240033
2

986-eng.pdf
more so in the presence of hypertension. Anyone identified as having 3
https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJM200101043440101

abnormal blood pressure should be referred to health clinics for evalu-

ation and treatment. Medications are often needed to ensure adequate
blood pressure control and should always be used as an adjunct to Peter N. Landless, a board-certified
lifestyle modification.2 nuclear cardiologist, is director of
Adventist Health Ministries at the General
Basic lifestyle interventions help reduce the disease burden of
Conference. Zeno L. Charles-Marcel, a
hypertension and include avoiding tobacco and alcohol, losing weight board-certified internist, is an associate
as needed, and maintaining a normal body weight/body mass index director of Adventist Health Ministries at
(BMI). In consultation with one’s physician, daily physical activity is the General Conference.

Photo: Cesar Wild AdventistWorld.org May 2023 27

 tiny villages scattered throughout the
island’s steep hills. Everywhere he taught
and demonstrated the essentials of
good health he had learned as a student
and teacher at Loma Linda University’s
School of Public Health: clean water,
simple food, and exercise.
The “exercise” part was easy, but his
focus on cleanliness, diet, and water were
new ideas for the locals.
When they arrived in PNG, infant
mortality was running around 50 percent.
That means that more than half of the
babies died before they were 2 years old,
and Dr. Farag was on a mission to change

When
that. “Let’s clean up your water sources,
move the animals out of the house, and
make sure your babies are vaccinated,” he
taught everyone who would listen.

God Calls
After three years of walking, talking,
and demonstrating better ways of living,
he had started a school of nursing and
a school of public health, and opened
60 rural clinics. Best of all, the infant
mortality rate had dropped to 2 percent
in the highlands.
“Yes, hello. I am calling from the office of Three years in, when the church
Ronald Reagan, the governor of California. offered the family a well-earned fur-
Thank you for taking my call. The governor lough/vacation at home in America, they
would like to speak with the president of were exhausted and eager!
your church, a Reverend Robert Pierson, I
believe? Yes, I will hold. Thank you.” HEALTH REFORM FOR CALIFORNIA
The call was, as they say, “out of the But Dr. Farag wanted to do more than
blue,” and would cause ripples around visit relatives and sit on a back porch. He
“May I Tell the world. wanted to learn more about public health,
You a Story?” “Hello there. Pastor Pierson? This is to discover better ways to purify water,
Ronald Reagan, and I have a personnel and more. One day he saw that Califor-
BY DICK DUERKSEN problem I believe you might be able to solve nia’s new governor, Ronald Reagan, was
for me. His name is Dr. Saleem Farag, and inviting health-care professionals to apply
although he is scheduled to return as a missionary in the highlands of Papua for the job of writing a position paper on
New Guinea, I need him to stay here and serve as the director of health for the health reform for his administration. Dr.
state of California. Might that be possible, sir?” Farag smiled and began writing.
Dr. Saleem Farag’s parents were the first people baptized as Sev- His application joined dozens of others
enth-day Adventists in Cairo, Egypt. His father, a prominent executive on the governor’s desk—and quickly rose
with the Egyptian railway, lost his position over Sabbath observance and to the top. Though he was “a missionary
then struggled to provide for his wife and eight children. The experiences on furlough from PNG,” he was now also
from those years in Egypt helped form Dr. Farag’s strong commitment to working for Ronald Reagan, writing a
listen for God’s call, and then follow wherever He might lead. proposal that would transform health
One of those calls was for Dr. Farag, along with his wife, Grace, and care in the state of California, that would
their three small daughters, to move to Papua New Guinea, where he was make it more practical, more focused on
to serve as health director for the Seventh-day Adventist Church. While children and on caring for the “whole
Grace cared for the girls, Dr. Farag went on “walkabouts” to hundreds of person” rather than hospital care.

28 May 2023 AdventistWorld.org Photo Courtesy of the Author

 When the governor read Dr. Farag’s
proposal, the family was already packed
and on a ship heading back to Papua New
Guinea! When their ship docked in Hono-
lulu, a message was waiting for them
from Governor Reagan. “Come back,” it
read. “I want you to serve as director of
health for the state of California!”
“I am pleased, and sorry,” Dr. Farag
responded. “Pleased you approve the pro-
posal, and sorry I cannot accept your offer.
I have made a commitment to go where
God calls me and must return to Papua
New Guinea to help improve the health of
the people who live in the highlands.”
Governor Reagan listened to Dr. Farag’s
response and immediately told his office
to call the president of the Adventists!
A HIGHER CALLING
Never before had a state governor
asked the church to cancel a missionary’s
call and bring the family home. When
President Pierson hung up the phone,
he called several of the vice presidents,
and then the president of Loma Linda
University, to ask what he should do.
The Farags got the answer when the ship
arrived in Sydney, Australia.
“Brother Farag,” the note began. First
there was a nice paragraph commending
Saleem for the good work he had already
done in PNG, and the next paragraph told
the Farags to get on the next ship and
return quickly to California. “We believe,”
the president said, “that you have been
given a higher calling.”
The next eight years were a whirl of
committees, hearings, planning sessions,
and positive community change in
California. Then, as often happens in
politics, Governor Reagan, a conservative
Republican, moved on when the people
elected Jerry Brown, a liberal Democrat, as
governor. Dr. Farag began packing his bags.
“I was not at all sure where we would
go,” Dr. Farag remembers, “but I knew
I would no longer be serving with the
governor of California.”
Then the governor called. The “new”
governor.
“I’d like for you to continue to serve as
the director of health for the state of Cali-
fornia,” Governor Brown said. “I’ve learned
that you are not a political person, but that
you serve evenly, honestly, and fairly. Kind
of like Daniel! I appreciate your work and
would like to have you on my team.”
The Farags unpacked their bags and
settled in for a new ministry adventure.
“There’s one other thing,” Dr. Farag told
the governor. “I am a Seventh-day Adven-
tist and so will not be available for work
from sundown Friday until after sundown
Saturday. I hope that is OK.”
“No problem,” answered the governor.
SABBATH OVER POLITICS
The phone rang one Sabbath morning,
just as the family was leaving for church.
It was Governor Jerry Brown.
“We’re having an urgent cabinet
meeting in about an hour,” the governor
said, “and I think you have some infor-
mation that would be important to the
discussion.”
For a moment Dr. Farag’s mind went
back to a day when his father had taken
him to see the mummy of the pharaoh
who had taken Moses’ place. “The
pharaoh is here,” his father had said, “but
Moses is in heaven.”
God’s call was clear.
“I said I was sorry I could not come,
and gave a careful explanation,” Saleem
remembers. “Then I went to church with
my family, knowing I had probably just
lost my job.”
Monday morning the governor called
another meeting of his close advisers,
including Dr. Farag.
“My husband went to the meeting
expecting to be fired for missing the Sat-
urday council,” remembers Grace. “Then,
when the governor came in and sat in
his chair, he turned to his secretary and
said, ‘Please make a note that Dr. Farag is
never to be called on Saturday. That is his
Sabbath.’ ”
To be continued in the June issue of
Adventist World.
Dick Duerksen, a pastor and storyteller,
lives in Portland, Oregon, United States.
AdventistWorld.org May 2023
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Vol. 19, No. 5
29
Growing Faith
Heavenly
Housing
W
hen I was a kid in pri-
mary Sabbath School
(a long, long, long
time ago), we sometimes sang
a song that started like this: “I
will wear a crown, in my Father’s
house . . .” After we sang that
song, the teacher would explain
that in heaven we would live in
beautiful homes—mansions, as
the Bible says—and since we
are sons and daughters of the
King, we would wear crowns. It
sounded amazing.
Have you ever been some-
where and seen a beautiful
place to live, like a palace or
mansion? They are usually
bigger than anything you’ve
ever seen before, and if you
had taken a tour, you would
30 May 2023 AdventistWorld.org
Fun-filled pages for younger ages
have seen more bedrooms than
there were people to fill them!
Maybe living in that type of
place sounds like it would be
lonely after a while—unless the
entire town lived there too. And
maybe your idea of a beautiful
house is smaller and cozier, and
would smell like bread or cake
was baking all day. Others might
enjoy a house near the ocean,
where they could fall asleep to
the sound of the waves crash-
ing. And there are those of us
who love to wake up to a view of
snowcapped mountains from a
warm, pretty chalet.
Whatever your idea of a
fantastic home looks like, God
has already planned it for you
in heaven. And not only will it
be a beautiful place to live, but
you will also be surrounded
by the people you love—Jesus
included! Many of us would
agree that what makes a house
a home is the wonderful people
inside it.
The next time things seem
hard, or you are having a partic-
ularly annoying day, remember
this: the best is yet to come! For
all those who love Jesus and
want to be with Him forever,
living for Him means He’s pre-
paring things for us that will be
so much better than anything
we have here on earth.
Claim the promise in the Bible
treasure on the next page and
look forward to heaven—who
knows, we might be neighbors!
Illustrations: Mugi Kinoshita
 BY WILONA KARIMABADI

What You How to Do It

Will Need: 1
Rinse the sponges well. Allow
them to dry just until damp.
z a variety of ordinary This is very important.
household sponges
Using your marker, draw shapes
(unused or cleaned 2 for doors and windows. Using
well) your scissors, cut out the shapes.

markers Build the house on a counter,

z 3 piece of wood, tabletop, or
z ruler another sturdy flat surface. Use
toothpicks or glue to hold the

Let’s Build z a plate

sharp scissors
sponge pieces together.

a Mini
z Spray the house with water,
4 using the spray bottle. Get it
z toothpicks really damp, but not soaking. Now

Grass z glue
sprinkle the grass seeds on the
house.

House! z spray bottle filled

with water
5 Give your sponge house another
good spray of water. Place it in a
sunny spot to help it grow quickly.
z fast-growing grass
This is a fun craft seeds (you can try 6 Trim the grass as it grows, and
that can be as wheat berries, chia,
water it with a spray bottle. If
you like, add decorations, such as
creative or as or alfalfa seeds, for beads or glitter.
simple as you like! example)
This appeared in KidsView, March 2023.

“ ‘In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it

were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare
a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for
you, I will come again and receive you to Myself;
that where I am, there you may be also. And where
Bible I go you know, and the way you know.’ Thomas
Treasure said to Him, ‘Lord, we do not know where You are
going, and how can we know the way?’ Jesus said
to him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one
comes to the Father except through Me.’ ”
John 14:2-6

AdventistWorld.org May 2023 31