As the early Adventist pioneers began to discover biblical truths such as Jesus’ work in the Heavenly Sanctuary and the seventh-day Sabbath, they often gathered to study together and pray. They were strongly impressed that they needed to share this information with others. But how? It was during a series of conferences specifically related to the Sabbath that an unexpected solution emerged.
“It was shortly after the fifth . . . Sabbath conference held in 1848 that another meeting was called at the home of Otis Nichols in Dorchester (near Boston), Massachusetts. The brethren were studying and praying concerning their responsibility to herald the light that the Lord had caused to shine upon their pathway. As they studied, Ellen White was taken off in vision, and . . . she was shown the duty of the brethren to publish this light. She recounts the incident in Life Sketches:
“‘After coming out of vision, I said to my husband: “I have a message for you. You must begin to print a little paper and send it out to the people. Let it be small at first; but as the people read, they will send you means with which to print, and it will be a success from the first. From this small beginning it was shown to me to be like streams of light that went clear round the world”’ (p. 125).
“Here was a call to action. What could James White do? He had little of this world’s goods. But the vision was a divine directive, and he felt the compulsion to move forward by faith. So with his seventy-five cent Bible and concordance with both covers torn off, James White began to prepare the articles on the Sabbath truth and other kindred topics to be printed in a little paper.
“The little sheet was six by nine inches [15.2 x 22.9 cm.] in size and contained eight pages. It bore the title The Present Truth. The date was July 1849. The little pile of papers was laid upon the floor. Then the brethren and sisters gathered about them and with tears in their eyes pleaded with God to bless the little sheet as it should be sent out. Then the papers were folded, wrapped, and addressed, and James White carried them eight miles [12.9 km.] to the Middletown post office. Thus the publishing work of the Seventh-day Adventist Church began.”[i]
The Whites traveled extensively but still managed to print issues of The Present Truth. It was while they were staying with the Harris family in Auburn, New York, that they added a second, longer paper to their publishing work. It was a monthly magazine they called the Advent Review. This was not The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald that would later come, but another paper they sent to believers in between issues of The Present Truth.
James White introduced the new 48-page paper this way: “Our design in this review is to cheer and refresh the true believer, by showing the fulfillment of prophecy in the past wonderful work of God, in calling out, and separating from the world and nominal church, a people who are looking for the second advent of our dear Saviour.”[ii]
In November 1850 the believers held a conference in Paris, Maine. One of the topics for discussion was the growing publishing work. After some consideration, they decided to expand the paper and settled on an appropriate name: The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald.[iii]
The Enemy Attacks
“We trusted the promise of God and determined to walk out by faith. We were expected at Auburn that day to receive the first number of the paper. We believed that Satan was trying to hinder us, and my husband decided to go, trusting in the Lord. Brother Harris made ready the carriage, and Sister Bonfoey accompanied us. My husband had to be helped into the wagon, yet every mile we rode he gained strength. We kept our minds stayed upon God, and our faith in constant exercise, as we rode on, peaceful and happy. When we received the paper all finished, and rode back to Centerport, we felt sure that we were in the path of duty. The blessing of God rested upon us. We had been greatly buffeted by Satan, but through Christ strengthening us we had come off victorious. We had a large bundle of papers with us, containing precious truth for the people of God.
“Excessive labor, care, and anxiety, a lack of proper and nourishing food, and exposure to cold in our long winter journeys, were too much for my husband, and he sank under the burden. He became so weak that he could scarcely walk to the printing office. Our faith was tried to the utmost. We had willingly endured privation, toil, and suffering, yet our motives were misinterpreted, and we were regarded with distrust and jealousy. Few of those for whose good we had suffered seemed to appreciate our efforts.
“The next morning, while at family prayer, I was taken off in vision and was instructed concerning these matters. I saw that my husband must not give up the paper, for Satan was trying to drive him to take just such a step and was working through agents to do this. I was shown that we must continue to publish, and the Lord would sustain us.”[iv]
The Lord, indeed, sustained the work. From this inauspicious beginning the Adventist Review remains one of the oldest church publications in the United States, continuously published since 1849, through a variety of name changes and rebranding. In July 2024 the publication celebrated its 175th anniversary.
The Rays Lengthen
In 2004 then General Conference (GC) president Jan Paulsen approached Bill Johnsson, former Adventist Review editor, with an exciting yet daunting proposal. “‘We need a magazine, a common vehicle, to help keep Adventists united throughout the world church,’ Paulsen said. 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.”[v]
“The concept of Adventist World was voted at the church’s 2004 autumn business meeting, and a presentation 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 minutes of the Adventist World publishing board of October 3, 2005, the first printing comprised 1.1 million copies. The minutes also noted five editions: Korea, South Pacific, North America, Inter-America, and Trans-Europe.”[vi] For nearly 20 years, the Adventist World magazine made its way as “streams of light” into millions of homes worldwide.
In 2025, Adventist World and the Adventist Review joined together as one brand continuing the best of both publications under one title. Editor Justin Kim shares, “The new format will make it easier to share, print, and distribute globally—delivering inspiring, Christ-centered content across cultures and continents. Since the days of the early Adventist presses, the mission has been to share truth in the most impactful way. We embrace that mission by creating a magazine that is more concise, utilizes more digital platforms, and ensures each page is filled with Christ-centered, Bible-based, and absolutely Adventist content.”[vii]
And, staying true to the original intention of James White, the Adventist Review will continue to “cheer and refresh the true believer, by showing the fulfillment of prophecy in the past wonderful work of God, in calling out, and separating from the world and nominal church, a people who are looking for the second advent of our dear Saviour.”
[i] “Historical Prologue,” in Ellen G. White, Early Writings (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Pub. Assn., 1882, 1945), p. xxiv.
[ii] Ellen G. White, Life Sketches (Mountain View, Calif.: Pacific Press Pub. Assn., 1915), p. 136, Retrieved from https://egwwritings.org/book/b666.
[iii] Ibid., pp. 137-139.
[iv] Ibid., pp. 140.
[v] Retrieved from https://www.adventistworld.org/may-2023/.
[vi] Ibid.
[vii] Retrieved from https://adventistreview.org/editorial/history-repeats-itself/.
