13.07.2015 Views

Testimonies for the Church Vol 1 - Lansing SDA Church

Testimonies for the Church Vol 1 - Lansing SDA Church

Testimonies for the Church Vol 1 - Lansing SDA Church

SHOW MORE
SHOW LESS

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.

Appendix 657secure <strong>for</strong> <strong>the</strong> Seventh-day Adventist young men <strong>the</strong> privileges grantedto members of religious denominations who were conscientiously opposedto bearing arms—of being assigned to noncombatant service inhospital duty or in caring <strong>for</strong> freed men. Be<strong>for</strong>e a serious crisis wasreached, <strong>the</strong>se ef<strong>for</strong>ts were successful. In a few cases Seventh-dayAdventist young men were drafted into <strong>the</strong> army and were assigned tohospital work or o<strong>the</strong>r noncombatant service. Whatever <strong>the</strong>ir assignment,<strong>the</strong>y tried to let <strong>the</strong>ir light shine. Regularly <strong>for</strong> several months<strong>the</strong>re ran through <strong>the</strong> columns of <strong>the</strong> Review and Herald a listing ofreceipts <strong>for</strong> a soldier’s tract fund to furnish literature <strong>for</strong> distributionamong <strong>the</strong> men.The experiences of Seventh-day Adventists in connection with <strong>the</strong>Civil War led <strong>the</strong>m to take steps that secured <strong>for</strong> <strong>the</strong>m a recognizedstatus as noncombatants, which at <strong>the</strong> same time enabled <strong>the</strong>m tofollow <strong>the</strong> Scriptural injunctions regarding <strong>the</strong>ir relationships to “<strong>the</strong>powers that be,” which “are ordained of God.”Pages 421, 456, Dress Re<strong>for</strong>m—The dresses generally worn bywomen in America at <strong>the</strong> time this was written (1863, 1867), werevery deleterious to health. They were especially objectionable becauseof <strong>the</strong>ir extreme length, <strong>the</strong> constriction of <strong>the</strong> waist by <strong>the</strong> corset, and<strong>the</strong> weight of <strong>the</strong> heavy skirts which were suspended from <strong>the</strong> hips.About a decade earlier a few women of national prominence initiateda movement to adopt a new style of dress that would be free from<strong>the</strong>se serious objections. The new mode of dress was somewhat like<strong>the</strong> Turkish costume worn by men and women alike. The movementbecame so popular that <strong>for</strong> a time “dress re<strong>for</strong>m” conventions wereheld annually.“The American costume,” here referred to by Mrs. White, wasa modification of <strong>the</strong> earlier style and was sponsored by Dr. HarrietAustin of Dansville, New York. It combined <strong>the</strong> short skirt, “reachingabout halfway from <strong>the</strong> hip to <strong>the</strong> knee,” with mannish-lookingtrousers, coat, and vest. See description on page 465. This “so-calledre<strong>for</strong>m dress” was in 1864 shown to Mrs. White to be unsuitable <strong>for</strong>adoption by God’s people.In 1865 Mrs. White, through How to Live, No. 6, appealed to oursisters to adopt a style of dress which was both modest and healthful.The next year <strong>the</strong> newly opened Health Re<strong>for</strong>m Institute in BattleCreek took steps to design a pattern of dress that would correct <strong>the</strong>

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!