Adventist Review

(1850– ; successor to Present Truth , 1849–1850; title changes noted below; weekly; published by the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, printed by RH ; January 1994 circulation, 250,000, first issue of each month; other issues, 40,000; files in RH , AU , AUC ; also available in microcard form). It originated as a semimonthly (issued with some irregularities at first), formed by the merging of The Present Truth and The Advent Review . Background. The historical setting of the Review was in the experiences of a small group of Adventists who had belonged to the Millerite movement, which met deep disappointment on Oct. 22, 1844, the day on which its adherents had expected the prophecy of the cleansing of the sanctuary at the end of the 2300 prophetic days ( Dan. 8:14 ) to be fulfilled by the second coming of Christ. After 1844 those who still retained belief in the basic Millerite teachings divided into two main groups: first, those who felt that their 1844 movement had erred in the prophetic time reckoning; second, those who felt that the error lay not in their expectation of the cleansing of the sanctuary in 1844, but in their concept of what the cleansing of the sanctuary meant. One distinctive group of the latter began to keep the seventh-day Sabbath and became the embryo Seventh-day Adventist Church. This small group claimed to be the true spiritual successors of the Millerites, because the main group was denying its past experience in the 1844 movement. To support their claim they proceeded to publish two periodicals, the forerunners of the Review: 1. Between July 1849 and November 1850 they published 11 issues of a little paper, The Present Truth, which placed a major emphasis on the seventh-day Sabbath but also included an ardent defense of their view of the sanctuary cleansing. 2. After the tenth issue of The Present Truth appeared (May 1850), they issued, at irregular intervals between August and November 1850, vol. 1, nos. 1 to 5, of The Advent Review , a publication so named because it reprinted and reviewed certain views advocated in the Advent movement of 1844. The opening sentence of the first issue reads: “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 the dear Saviour.” Also carrying the title The Advent Review was an Extra, issued following no. 4, bearing a date of September 1850, and a 48-page reprint of certain articles from earlier issues, bearing simply the date “1850.” The Church Paper. In November 1850, from the same printing house, G. L. Mellen & Co. of Paris, Maine, came the last issue of each of these two parent publications and vol. 1, no. 1, of the Second Advent Review and Sabbath Herald . The editor states: “TO OUR READERS.—The REVIEW AND HERALD is designed to be strictly confined to those important truths that belong to the present time. We hope to be able to send you this enlarged size of the paper quite often, containing a simple and clear exposition of those great and sanctifying truths embraced in the message of the third angel [embodying the Sabbath in the last-day setting]” ( p. 7). “The paper,” in its “enlarged size,” apparently was considered by its publishers as the continuation of The Present Truth , or perhaps The Advent Review , or possibly both. Certainly it was larger in size than either of the two. Its prime policy, as its name suggests, was to review the Advent experience of 1843–1844, and to herald the Sabbath doctrine. With vol. 2, Aug. 5, 1851, it became The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald . This lengthy name, with minor variations, was employed until May 4, 1961, when it was formally contracted to Review and Herald . The original name was restored on Mar. 18, 1971, but, with the first issue of 1978, the name was changed to Adventist Review , its present name. (In fact, throughout its history the paper has been commonly referred to simply as the Review .) From the first issue onward until 1939 there appeared under the title on the front cover, or under the name on page 3, the words: “Here is the patience of the saints; here are they that keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.” From 1909 to 1961 the following statement appeared either on the cover or on the masthead: “General Church Paper of the Seventh-day Adventists.” In 1961 this was changed to read “Official Organ of the Seventh-day Adventist Church,” but in 1967 the statement reverted to “General Church Paper of the Seventh-day Adventists.” The paper was changed in format and design with the first issue of 1986 (see below), and since that time has carried “weekly news and inspiration for Seventh-day Adventists,” and the statement “General Paper of the Seventh-day Adventist Church” on the masthead. Places of Publication. Vol. 1 (November 1850 through June 9, 1851) was published at Paris, Maine; vol. 2 (July 21, 1851, through Mar. 23, 1852) at Saratoga Springs, New York; vol. 3 through vol. 7, no. 9 (May 6, 1852, through Oct. 30, 1855), at Rochester, New York; vol. 7, no. 10, through vol. 80, no. 32 (Dec. 4, 1855, through Aug. 11, 1903), at Battle Creek, Michigan; vol. 80, no. 33 through vol. 166, no. 26 (Aug. 20, 1903, through June 29, 1989), at Washington, D.C.; and vol. 166, no. 27 (July 6, 1989, onward), at Silver Spring, Maryland. Printing Office Set Up. For the first two years the paper was printed at one and then another printing house. Then, while still at Saratoga Springs, James White set forth a series of reasons for his dissatisfaction with the printing arrangements. He thought it inappropriate to have the journal that advocated the Sabbath printed on the Sabbath day, as might easily be the case. He reasoned that if they had their own office this would not only ensure that the paper would not be printed on the Sabbath, but would also reduce costs. Furthermore, he could hire those “who are keeping the Sabbath, who would take an interest in the paper that cannot be expected of others” ( Review and Herald 2:104, Mar. 2, 1852). The publication of the Review was the first collective endeavor on the part of the emerging SDA Church, and the first general offering solicited from the scattered groups of Sabbathkeepers was this fund to establish a publishing office and to purchase a printing press. In the spring of 1852 James and Ellen White moved to Rochester, New York. There they soon rented a building, at $175 a year, which provided living quarters for them and a printing office-the first office headquarters the denomination had, and for a time, the only one. Nothing could better reveal how closely the church has been connected with our publishing work from the beginning. When the Review office was moved to Battle Creek in 1855, it entered a building erected and owned by church members. From the time the General Conference was organized in 1863, the offices that served as denominational headquarters were situated in a Review and Herald building until headquarters were transferred to Washington in 1903. The General Conference Becomes Publisher. From 1863 to 1983, the Review and Herald Publishing Association and the General Conference were located together. Throughout this period the Review and Herald Publishing Association functioned as publisher of the church paper. However, during 1982 and 1983 the Review and Herald Publishing Association moved to a new facility at Hagerstown, Maryland, some 70 miles (112 kilometers) away from Washington, D.C. The impending move led to careful consideration of the role of the church paper and who should be its publisher. These discussions resulted in the General Conference’s assuming the role of publisher in 1983, with the editorial staff of the Adventist Review located at Washington, D. C., as part of the General Conference. The Review and Herald Publiss for the pahing Association was assigned responsibility for printing, marketing, design, and list fulfillment. An Adventist Review editorial board was established at this time to guide the editors in general policieper and to handle the hiring and firing of editors. The General Conference president has served as chair of this board from its inception. A large, broad-based Adventist Review advisory council was also set up in 1983 but was discontinued in 1990. By June 30, 1989, the relocation of the General Conference in Silver Spring, Maryland, was completed. This became the legal place of publication of the Review. In 1991 a commission of the General Conference was set up to clarify the roles of the General Conference and the Review and Herald Publishing Association with regard to the Review . This commission’s recommendation reiterated the division of responsibilities that went into effect in 1983. However, an adjustment to the finances was made so that from Jan. 1, 1993, the General Conference and Review and Herald Publishing Association share equally in any profits from the Review operation. Size and Circulation . The Review in the early years was eight pages, about 10" x 14" (25 cm. x 36 cm.) in size. In the later years of the nineteenth century the page size was much larger, and the average number of pages per issue slowly increased to about 24, an average rather steadily maintained for years. From 1953 onward the number of pages has varied, usually being either 24 or 32, but occasionally 48, depending on the number of pages devoted to advertising. Page size is 81/8" x 105/8" (20.6 cm. x 30 cm.). Since 1986 at least 26 issues per year have included four-color pages. Early circulation figures are not known, though stray news items reveal that 1,000 or 2,000 copies of certain of the earliest issues were printed. This slowly grew, as funds became available, for the Review was at first sent to all who desired it, and the readers were requested to give, as they were able, to support it. After a time the paper was put on a subscription basis. The paid circulation gradually increased, until in the 1940s it passed the 40,000 mark, and in the 1950s it exceeded 50,000. In 1963 because of a drastic cut in subscription price and aggressive promotion, the circulation reached 96,000, but has since declined. The current circulation includes about 280,000 for the first issue of each month (see below), with about 40,000 subscribers to the other weekly issues. The circulation is confined largely to North America, although subscribers are to be found in almost every country of the world, wherever there are Seventh-day Adventists. Frequency of Issue . As might be expected, the early issues were not published regularly. Lack of funds, lack of time, and frequent changes of residence made any kind of schedule difficult to follow. Vol. 1 had 13 numbers, and ran from November 1850 through June 9, 1851; vol. 2, 14 numbers, July 21, 1851 (the first issue was an Extra; the first regular issue bore the same number and was dated Aug. 5, 1851), through Mar. 23, 1852; vol. 3, 26 numbers, May 6, 1852, through May 12, 1853; vol. 4, 26 numbers, May 26, 1853, through Jan. 10, 1854; vol. 5, 26 numbers, Jan. 24, 1854, through Aug. 1, 1854; vol. 6, 32 numbers, Aug. 15, 1854, through June 26, 1855; vol. 7, 26 numbers, July 10, 1855, through Mar. 27, 1856; vol. 8, 26 numbers, Apr. 10, 1856, through Oct. 30, 1856. Beginning with vol. 9 the volumes ran uniformly for six months each, and almost without exception contained 26 issues until vols. 46 through 58 (July 1, 1875, through Dec. 20, 1881) regularly contained 25 numbers each. Beginning with vol. 59 (Jan. 3, 1882), the volume length was changed from the half year to the calendar year, 50 numbers; from vol. 72 (Jan. 1, 1895) to the present time 52 numbers have appeared annually, with several exceptions as noted in the following paragraph. Extras and Supplements . Not infrequently through the years, Extras or Supplements have been published, most of them outside the regular sequence of weekly numbers. These have sometimes dealt with some timely issue, such as critical attacks by offshoots or other enemies; often with lay missionary work and distribution of publications. Then two Extras on current events in 1914 and a series of 24 in 1915–1916 (in addition to the weekly issues but numbered as part of the regular sequence), each on a single doctrinal topic, were published for general distribution. These were continued in 1917 as a separate periodical. ( See Present Truth [2] , 1917–1955.) The Review originally published the proceedings of the General Conference sessions, which at first were held annually. Later separate General Conference Bulletins contained these special reports. In 1905 and from 1926 on, the Review again incorporated them, thus making them available to all subscribers. These reports currently require about 10 extra issues. In recent years the Review has published two or three special issues each year devoted to a single topic, such as last-day events, Adventist women, and the family. These special issues are part of the regular sequence, but usually are undated to provide for longer shelf life. Special Editions. The first few annual Ingathering magazines (1908–1910, 1913, 1914) were Review specials issued in extra quantities for distribution. The Review has an annual special containing the readings for the Week of Prayer each autumn. From 1948 to 1960 one number each quarter, printed in two colors and presenting a special array of general articles, was issued in increased quantities to provide copies to all SDA families in North America who were not subscribers. The total press runs on these quarterly color numbers, as they were called, averaged about 140,000. The cost of the extra copies for nonsubscribers was borne by the General Conference and local conferences. In 1985 the editors, in conjunction with design and marketing personnel from the Review and Herald Publishing Association, gave major study to recasting the Review in an endeavor to attract young adult readers. These discussions led to a new format and design introduced with the Jan. 2, 1986, issue. The first of each month was shaped also to fit the needs of a North American Division paper and was labeled “NAD edition.” A cost-sharing plan involving the General Conference, North American Division, and each NAD union and conference was introduced in order to provide this edition free to each Adventist home in North America. Almost all conferences have chosen to participate in this plan, and circulation of the NAD edition has ranged from 240,000 to the current 280,000. Editions . From 1947 to 1953 a monthly 16-page English language World Edition of the Review was published for countries outside North America. For English-speaking countries the magazine was printed in Washington, D.C., and shipped abroad. For other countries copies of the English language edition were mailed to certain publishing houses overseas for translation and printing. The cost of this World Edition was borne entirely by the General Conference. In 1971 the monthly edition was revived and placed on a subscription basis. This edition, which was subsidized by the General Conference, was printed at Stanborough Press in England through 1974, but in 1975 was transferred to the Review and Herald Publishing Association. With the introduction of the NAD edition in 1986, the monthly, often referred to as the “Monthly Digest,” was discontinued. The Review also serves as the church paper for other divisions. As Revista Adventista it is published in separate Portuguese and Spanish editions for readers in the South American Division. The Inter-American Division publishes the Review for English readers, Revista Adventista for Spanish-speaking readers, and Revue Adventiste for French-speaking readers. These editions at first were edited from the Review office, but for some years have been edited in the respective divisions. The Africa-Indian Ocean Division also calls its paper Adventist Review and publishes separate editions in English and French. For all these division papers the parent Review serves as the base: division editors draw upon its doctrinal and inspirational articles, and news of the world church. In 1990 a quarterly edition in Spanish, Revista Adventista , was introduced for Spanish-speaking readers in North America. This edition, which likewise is built on articles selected from issues of the parent Review , is edited and published at the Pacific Press in Boise, Idaho. A quarterly braille edition, made up of material selected from the weekly Review , was begun in January 1965. It is published by Christian Record Services in Lincoln, Nebraska. In 1972 the Columbia Union Conference discontinued its union paper as a separate publication and entered into an arrangement with the Review and Herald to send the Review free to every family in its territory. In 1978 the Southwestern Union Conference began a similar arrangement for its union paper. The Columbia Union discontinued the plan in 1982; the Southwestern Union in 1985. In 1991 the Review expanded its outreach beyond print with the introduction of a quarterly video magazine, OnLine Edition. Each program consists of six or seven short segments and aims to fulfill through the medium of video the same purposes as the printed Review —news and inspiration for SDA s. OnLine Edition is subsidized by the General Conference and in January 1993 had a circulation of 5,000, with 3,400 copies sent each quarter to churches in the NAD. The World Edition of the Review was revived in March 1993 in response to several requests from divisions outside the NAD. The current World Edition consists of 16 pages, but, unlike the earlier one, is printed in the divisions from negatives supplied by the Review and Herald Publishing Association. This edition is edited in the Review office and is drawn entirely from articles appearing in the regular issues of the Review . Currently the FED, SAD, EAD, and SPD print and circulate the World Edition. Editorial Policy and Range . The designation “General Paper of the Seventh-day Adventist Church” suggests both policy and range. From the first the Review has sought in two ways to unify the thinking of the members: by its presentations on doctrine and by its news of the activities of various SDA congregations and individuals. As the church began to grow rapidly overseas the news portion of the journal became increasingly important. From its very beginning the Review has been the church’s one unbroken record of all notable events throughout SDA history, including the life sketches of all who have been leaders in the movement. The Review is one of the oldest continuously published religious journals in America. Editors. For most of the years the record is clear as to the editorship. For limited periods, when a group of names is listed under the title “editors,” only the first named is here given—the available evidence indicates that that person was the editor. Beginning with the first issue, November 1850, the list reads: “Publishing Committee” (including James White), 1850–1851; James White, 1851–1855; Uriah Smith, 1855–1861; James White, 1861–1864; Uriah Smith, 1864–1869; J. N. Andrews, 1869–1870; Uriah Smith, 1870–1871; James White, 1871–1872; Uriah Smith, 1872–1873; James White, 1873–1877; Uriah Smith, 1877–1880; James White, 1880–1881 (died, Aug. 6, 1881); Uriah Smith, 1881–1897; A. T. Jones, 1897–1901; Uriah Smith, 1901–1903 (died Mar. 6, 1903); W. W. Prescott, 1903–1909; W. A. Spicer, 1909–1911; F. M. Wilcox, 1911–1944; W. A. Spicer, 1945 (six months); F. D. Nichol, 1945–1966; Kenneth H. Wood, 1966–1982; William G. Johnsson, 1982– .