Purpose of Pictures—The Lord desires His people to move understandingly and intelligently. They are not to create large expenses; yet everything is to be done in perfect order. Our books should be bound with good, durable covers. The sewing should be firm and strong. This should always be. But care should be exercised in the matter of illustrating. Much money should not be invested in this line. When there are lessons in the pictures which lead to a study of the book itself, it is well; but when the pictures draw the attention from the truth contained in the book to themselves, the effort to help the book by illustrations is a failure.—Letter 75, 1900.
(CW 167.1)
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Good Taste in Their Choice—Pictures to represent Bible scenes must be no cheap designs. True science of all kinds is distinction and power. He who by painstaking effort ascends step by step the ladder of human progress, must fix his eyes on the One above the ladder. The knowledge which God imparts is not of a character to belittle our ideas of sacred things. The glory of God must be kept before the mind’s eye, not the cheap, earthly representations that imprint in the memory scenes which give a false conception of Christ and heavenly things. A proper illustration of Bible scenes requires talent of a superior quality. With these cheap, common productions, the sacred lessons of the Bible disdain comparison.... God forbid that we should please the devil by lowering the standard of eternal truth by using illustrations that men, women, and children will make sport of.—Manuscript 23, 1896.
(CW 167.2)
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VC