# LCMS Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1944_S267
# Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

Publication Matters ~ - 267

Report of the General Literature Board
’ (Memorial 702)
The present personnel of the General Literature Board in-
cludes: Pastor Alfred Doerffler, chairman; Pastor Wm. H. Fifert,
secretary; Pastors W.E. Hohenstein and Otto Nieting, and Mr. H.
‘¥. Bade. Pastor Nieting was appointed by the President of Synod.
in. September, 1943, to fill the vacancy created by the demise of
“Pastor J.G.F. Kleinhans, who had served Synod as a member of’ -
the General Literature Board for many years. Dr. E. Seuel and
-- Mr. O. A. Dorn of Concordia Publishing House serve in an advisory
- capacity. . In carrying out the work assigned to the General Litera~ °
_ ture Board by Synod, your Board, during the past triennium, met
in monthly sessions, which were spent in thorough discussion and '
careful consideration of the. numerous items on the docket. The
very nature of the Board’s work necessitates that much of it must
be done by the individual members between the monthly meetings.
The Literature Board is fully aware of the difficulty of striking
.8 proper balance between the loftiest ideals of literary standards”
on the.one hand and the practical limitations imposed by hard.
‘facts (production costs, sales possibilities, etc.) on the other; it also
realizes that its recommendations. and resolutions may not always
be in accord with the opinions and judgments of others; however,
your Board has endeavored at all times to decide every issue before
it solely on the basis of what was believed to be for the best in-
terest of Synod as a whole.

The Synodical Handbook directs the General Literature Board
“to study the needs of the Lutheran Church, particularly the Mis-
souri Synod, with a view of determining what kind of literature
may be required and also, if necessary, to select authors to under-
take certain literary tasks.’ In keeping with these instructions,
your Board at the beginning of the triennium made a careful survey
of Synod’s literature requirements. On the basis of this survey,
a comprehensive plan was adopted for guidance in attempting to
provide the literature which we believe should be made available
to the clergy and laity of our Church in order that the heritage: of
divine truth which is ours by the grace of God might be continued
and propagated also by the ministry of the printed word.

Among the projects initiated by your Board, in keeping with
its plan, are an annual volume of Lenten sermons by prominent.
clergymen, a volume of Easter sermons, a volume of occasional
sermons, an exegetical-homiletical study of. the seven letters of
Revelation, two courses of instruction for adults, a revision of the
Concordia Cyclopedia (including a plan of keeping it up to date),
autobiographies of prominent men of our Church for their his-