Mission Stories are not mere tales for entertainment and information. They serve as fountains of values and lessons. Preserving them, though, is quite a challenge.
The online Encyclopedia of the Seventh-day Adventists (ESDA) does excellent work in researching. It is a cutting-edge tool and technology for essential details management. The future will surely benefit from this.
Keeping church records the shorthand way
Who can take down notes of about 200 spoken words per minute? That's like catching bullets fired from a rifle!
Have you ever heard of this tagline: To save time is to lengthen life? It is actually from Remington Typewriter Company. A subway rapid transit in Boston in 1912 used that slogan as an advertisement. Interestingly, early Adventist reporters had this line in one of their antique photographs. They were stenographers.
Shorthand reporters can write at a fast speed with maintained accuracy. Even our church pioneers like Uriah Smith and J.H. Waggoner had to learn phonography transcription.
The early church needed this art for reporting and preserving speeches, lectures, and sermons. Until today, there are hundreds of Adventist's writings still waiting for transcription.
To learn more how phonography helped the Seventh-day Adventist documentary, check this out: https://encyclopedia.adventist.org/article?id=EA5L&highlight=shorthand
Research methods for aspiring authors
Thorough historical research is relevant, especially for prospect authors and contributors for ESDA. Library and office visits may be necessary. Oral stories are also important.
With the pandemic crisis going on, though, online references are more helpful. The Seventh-day Adventist church cares about information so much. The church offers many online resources such as yearbooks, archives, and digital libraries.
The new online encyclopedia outlines practical guidelines for aspiring writers here:
https://encyclopedia.adventist.org/author-materials
Struggles and success stories appear alive
Learn more fascinating missionary stories from this Adventist history podcast. Dr. Lisa Diller is back to share with us about her dad's great aunt, who served in the High Andes Mountains. She will also relate her ongoing project research about Mountainview Conference. Kevin Burton, coordinator of ESDA will also join us. He'll share an exciting story about a generous architect.
Let's explore this episode filled with fun, facts, and values, with the editors of ESDA, Dr. David Trim, and Dr. Dragoslava Santrac.
Next on deck...
Be excited about the more colorful success and struggle stories of missionaries and how they shaped the Adventist church's history. See you again!
Suppose you missed the previous video podcast episodes, no need to worry! Check the playlist at https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-k2Gb-DBYo-_LOrS0obIEGcCOTQgdvGa or visit http://adventistarchives.org/.
___
To follow our official social media accounts, just follow the links below:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheAdventistChurch
Twitter: https://twitter.com/adventistchurch
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adventistchurch/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/AdventistOrgChurch