Testimonies for the Church, Volume 2 - Ellen G. White

possible, ministers should avoid apologies and
preliminaries.
Brother D is too specific. He dwells upon
minutiae. He takes time to explain points which are
really unimportant and would be taken for granted
without producing proof, for they are self-evident.
But the real, vital points should be made as forcible
as language and proof can make them. They should
stand forth as prominent as mileposts. He should
avoid many words over little particulars, which
will weary the hearer before the important points
are reached.
Brother D has large concentrativeness. When
he gets his mind in a certain direction, it is difficult
for him to place it anywhere else; he lingers
tediously upon one point. In conversation he is in
danger of wearying the listener. His writings lack a
free, easy style. The habit of concentrating the
mind upon one thing, to the exclusion of other
things, is a misfortune. This should be understood
by him, and he should labor to restrain and control
this power of the mind, which is too active. Too
1207