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SDA Church and the Trinity

At the start of God’s Word:
Genesis 1:2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness [was] upon the face of the deep. And the SPIRIT OF GOD moved upon the face of the waters.
The Holy Spirit is an attribute of God; it belongs to the Father. It does NOT become another God.
The Holy Spirit can never become another God, just like you and I can never become a fairy.
At the end of God’s Word:
Revelation 22:1: ¶ And he [one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues] showed me [John] a PURE RIVER OF WATER OF LIFE, clear as crystal, proceeding out of THE THRONE OF GOD AND OF THE LAMB [Jesus].
Revelation 22:3 And there shall be no more curse: but THE THRONE OF GOD AND OF THE LAMB shall be in it; and HIS servants shall serve HIM:
Revelation 22:1 & 3 confirm that only TWO sit on the [combined] Throne.
There is no place for the “fairy” “God the Holy Spirit” – he just does not exist.
Learn to quote the above statements for outreach purposes and you have a quick simplified explanation to convict the Trinitarian believers.
Also
1. In the KJV Bible, Jesus, in His John 17 “Intercessory Prayer” uses a complete total of 132 singular [personal] pronouns – Thee, Thy, Thyself, Thou, Thine, [53 in number]; then others like He, Him, etc..
Jesus – one Person / [Divine Being] was praying to His Father – another Person / Divine Being.
Jesus was NOT a Trinitarian.
2. Ellen G. White’s public [closing] prayers contain the same singular [personal] pronoun usage – Thee, Thy, Thyself, Thou, and Thine.
It is widely noted that Ellen White did not use the specific word “Trinity” in her published writings.
James White, her husband, was an ardent non-Trinitarian, along with ALL of the other early Adventist pioneers. He stated that the “old unscriptural Trinitarian creed” was something the early Adventists rejected, and his comments indicated that Ellen White’s early visions did not support the Trinitarian creed. He died in 1881.
Ellen G. White was NOT a Trinitarian.
For more and detailed information, see:
https://www.godswordexplained.com/?page_id=1673
3. The 1872 Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) church published a pamphlet titled “A Declaration of the Fundamental Principles Taught and Practised by the Seventh-day Adventists” which outlined 25 Fundamental Principles. This 1872 document was created from Bible study [based on 1 Corinthians 8:6, etc.] and presented 25 points of truth. These were framed by James White and Uriah Smith, and they were presented as a guideline for what the church believed. Therefore this document was not intended as a rigid creed, as Adventists accept the [KJV / LSG] Bible as their only creed. Rather, its purpose was to address inquiries and correct misstatements about their faith by providing a concise summary of the points held with great unanimity by the church members at that time.
1 Corinthians 8:6 But to us [there is but] ONE GOD, THE FATHER, of WHOM [are] all things, and we in HIM; AND ONE LORD JESUS CHRIST, by WHOM [are] all things, and we by HIM. [Deuteronomy 6:4; Isaiah 42:8; Malachi 2:10; Mark 12:29-30, 32; John 17:3; Romans 3:30; 1 Corinthians 8:4; Ephesians 4:6; 1 Timothy 2:5; James 2:19]. [Just 2 individual beings / persons and not 3]
In his introductory remarks to the Fundamental Principles in the Signs of the Times, James White states, “In presenting to the public this synopsis of our faith, we wish to have it distinctly understood that we have no articles of faith, creed, or discipline aside from the Bible. We do not put forth this as having authority with our people, nor is designed to secure uniformity among them, as a system of faith, but is a brief statement of what is, and has been, with great unanimity, held by them.”
In the SDA Yearbooks from 1905 to 1914, it said:
“Seventh-Day Adventists have no creed but the Bible; but they hold to certain well-defined points of faith, for which they feel prepared to give a reason “to every man that asketh” them. The following propositions may be taken as a summary of the principal features of their religious faith, upon which there is, so far as is known, entire unanimity throughout the body. They believe—
1. That there is one God, a personal, spiritual being, the Creator of all things, omnipotent, omniscient, and eternal; infinite in wisdom, holiness, justice, goodness, truth, and mercy; unchangeable, and every where present by His representative, the Holy Spirit. Psalm 139:7.
Psalm 139:7 Whither shall I go from THY SPIRIT? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? [There is one God, a personal, spiritual being, the creator of all things, omnipotent, omniscient, and eternal, infinite in wisdom, holiness, justice, goodness, truth, and mercy; unchangeable, and everywhere present by his representative, the Holy Spirit.]
2. That there is one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Eternal Father, the one by whom He created all thing’s, and by whom they do consist;” (1905 SDA Yearbook, page 188, Fundamental Principles)
Note that this is pretty plain and simple. The Holy Spirit does not get a separate statement or belief listed. Jesus isn’t referred to as “God essentially” as in later years.  And he is the “Son of the ETERNAL FATHER”, not God the Son or the ETERNAL SON of God. 
By the early Seventh-Day Adventists, the “one God” was considered to be only the FATHER.  Not a God in trinity, or the trinity, or three-in-one God as purported in the present SDA Fundamental Beliefs (these use to be called principles, not beliefs).  The trinity doctrine depicts all three divine personalities existing inseparably together as ‘one compound God’ and that was rejected as not being supported by Scripture. 
From 1914 to 1931 the SDA Yearbooks did not contain a summary of SDA beliefs. 
In 1931, SDA Church leaders in Africa requested a “statement” to “assist in a better understanding of our work” (27 Fundamentals Introduction). In answer to the request, a suitable Statement of Faith was placed in the 1931 SDA Yearbook.
In 1931, the SDA Yearbook with a new Statement of Beliefs was published without a vote nor authority. The G.C. President C.H. Watson had been voted the authority to select a committee of four men, of which he was a member, to prepare a statement for publication in the Yearbook. The four were G.C. Associate Secretary M.E. Kern, Review editor F.M. Wilcox, manager of Review and Herald E.R. Palmer, and G.C President C.H. Watson. 
Francis McLellan Wilcox, editor for the Review and Herald for 33 years, alone wrote up the new Statement of Beliefs with 22 Fundamental Beliefs with the approval of the committee and passed it over to Edson Rogers (G.C. statistician from 1903-1941) who placed it in the 1931 SDA Yearbook.
LeRoy Froom would later claim there was a consensus because no one complained. He failed to mention the church was unaware of this action. President Watson knew, but did not seek to take official action. Thus the Statement of Beliefs was added, not by approval of the G.C., but “by common consent” and was “accepted without challenge.” (Froom, Movement of Destiny, p. 414)
The period from 1900 to 1950 marked the process of the SDA church adopting the orthodox doctrine of the Trinity. By the late 1940s, the “new theology” (Trinitarianism) was becoming well established in church publications and among leadership.
In 1946, the SDA leadership again called for a committee of four to make a statement of official SDA beliefs. However, it is again penned individually by F. M. Wilcox through a statement of beliefs on the Trinity, originally written in 1931 by him and unofficially put in the SDA Yearbook.
By 1948, the Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) Church had largely become predominantly Trinitarian in its beliefs, a significant shift from its early anti-Trinitarian pioneer views.
In 1952, a book was copyrighted called Principles of Life from the Word of God. It has been used by school children as their Bible Doctrines study book. One paragraph says, “While God the Father, God the Son, and the Holy Spirit are three separate and distinct beings, yet they are ‘one in nature, in character, in purpose’ (PP34.1), working in such close relationship as to be one.” (Principles of Life, p.28)
This SDA book was promoted by the Bible Doctrines Textbook Committee for doctrinal educational purposes.
The “Bible Doctrines Textbook Committee” was a group selected by the General Conference Committee of the Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) Church in the mid-20th century to prepare a textbook on denominational doctrines.
The primary output of this committee was the book Principles of Life from the Word of God, first published in 1952.
In this Principles of Life from the Word of God book, under Chapter 7: THE GODHEAD OR TRINITY on page 28, there is the statement:
“While God the Father, God the Son, and the Holy Spirit are three separate and distinct beings, yet they are “one in nature, in character, in purpose” (Patriarchs and Prophets, 34:1) , working in such close relationship as to be one. Moses endeavored to explain this truth to Israel when he said, “The Lord our God is one Lord.” Deuteronomy 6:4.”
However, the Patriarchs and Prophets statement refers to JESUS; it says:
The SOVEREIGN of the universe was not alone in His work of beneficence. He had an associate – a co-worker who could appreciate His purposes, and could share His joy in giving happiness to created beings. “In the BEGINNING was the WORD, and the WORD was with GOD, and the WORD was GOD. The same was in the beginning with GOD.” John 1:1, 2. CHRIST, the WORD, the ONLY BEGOTTEN of GOD, was one with the ETERNAL FATHER – one in nature, in character, in purpose – the ONLY being that could enter into all the counsels and purposes of GOD. “His name shall be called Wonderful, COUNSELLOR, The mighty GOD, The everlasting FATHER, The Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6. His “goings forth have been FROM of old, from everlasting.” Micah 5:2. And the SON of GOD declares concerning HIMSELF: “The Lord possessed Me in the beginning of His way, before His works of old. I was set up from everlasting. . . . When He appointed the foundations of the earth: then I was by Him, as one brought up with Him: and I was daily His delight, rejoicing always before Him.” Proverbs 8:22-30. {1890 PP 34.1}
Conclusion: By virtue of the Trinity doctrine being promoted by the SDA church, the Principles of Life Bible Doctrines study book incorrectly applied [probably knowingly] the “one in nature, in character, in purpose” to the Trinity doctrine of “God the Father, God the Son, and the Holy Spirit”.
From its beginnings in the mid-19th century through the first half of the 20th century, many mainstream Christian groups viewed the Seventh-day Adventist church as a non-Christian cult or sect due to its distinctive doctrines like the Sabbath and the “Investigative Judgment”.
Beginning in the late 1950s, meetings between Adventist and evangelical leaders, such as Walter Martin, helped change some perceptions.
[Walter Martin was a Baptist minister and author known for his work in apologetics, and his views on the Seventh-day Adventist Church evolved over his career. Initially labelling the SDA church a cult in his 1955 book, The Rise of the Cults, he later changed his stance. By 1965, Martin concluded it was possible to be an SDA and a true Christian, despite some heterodox views, a conclusion that was controversial at the time.]
1973 – Bert B. Beach, secretary of the Northern Europe-West Africa Division, and company begin Social Engineering of acceptance of being one with the world in joining the World Council of Churches. He co-authored a book with Lucas Visher, secretary of the WCC, titled “So Much in Common between the World Council of Churches and the Seventh-Day Adventist Church”, published by the WCC, Geneva, Switzerland, 1973, which stated: “The member churches of the World Council of Churches and Seventh-Day Adventists are in agreement on the fundamental articles of the Christian faith as set forth in the three ancient symbols [creeds] (Apostolicum, Nicaeno-Constantinopolitum, Athanasium). This agreement finds expression in unqualified acceptance of the doctrines of the Trinity and the Two Natures.” (So Much in Common, p. 40)
Ellen White had warned that “it is a grave mistake on the part of those who are children of God to seek to bridge the gulf that separate them from the children of darkness by yielding principle, by compromising the truth.” (BEcho, April 9, 1894, par. 6)
1976 – Neal Wilson, President of the North American Division of SDA, gave this sworn statement in the Silver-Tobler legal case involving the Seventh-day Adventist Church: “Although it is true that there was a period in the life of the Seventh-day Adventist Church when the denomination took a distinctly anti-Roman Catholic viewpoint, and the term hierarchy was used in a perjorative sense to refer to the papal form of church governance, that attitude on the Church’s part was nothing more than a manifestation of widespread anti-popery among conservative protestant denominations in the early part of this century and the latter part of the last, and which has now been consigned to the historical trash heap so far as the Seventh-day Adventist Church is concerned.” (Merikay McLeod lawsuit, p. 4, footnote #2, Docket Entry #84: EEOC vs PPPA C-74-2025 CBR, Sworn statement dated Feb.6, 1976)
Ellen White warned in 1894, “It is a backsliding church that lessens the distance between itself and the papacy.” (Signs of the Times, February 19, 1894)
1981 – Neal C. Wilson, now General Conference President, announced that the Church had officially adopted the Trinity doctrine, which is now number 2 in the Church’s 27 Fundamental Beliefs. He declared before the Seventh-day Adventist Church that: “…there is another universal and truly catholic organisation, the Seventh-day Adventist Church.” (Adventist Review, March 5, 1981, p. 3)
1981 – Adventist Review 7-30-1981 Special Issue on Bible Doctrines—The Trinity doctrine is explained one year after it was voted as an official doctrine (which was in 1980). It states, “While no single scriptural passage states formally the doctrine of the Trinity, it is assumed as a fact by Bible writers and mentioned several times… Only by faith can we accept the existence of the Trinity.” (p. 4) “The concept of the Trinity, namely the idea that the three are one, is not explicitly stated but only assumed.” – (Fernando L. Canale, Handbook of Seventh-day Adventist Theology, Seventh-day Adventist Encyclopedia, vol. 12, p. 138, ‘Doctrine of God’)
1986 – The official doctrine of the church is stated in the Church Manual: “There is one God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, a unity of three co-eternal persons.” – (SDA Church Manual, chapter 2, p. 23.
Refer also to the book – Seventh-day Adventists Believe 27 Fundamental Beliefs, “The Trinity”)
1993 – George Knight, a professor and prominent SDA theologian, makes this startling confession in Ministry Magazine, October 1993: “Most of the founders of Seventh-day Adventism would not be able to join the church today if they had to subscribe to the denomination’s fundamental beliefs. More specifically, most would not be able to agree to belief number 2 which deals with the doctrine of the Trinity.” In all actuality, this would have included ALL of the founders and Pioneers of the early SDA Church and it should be alarming to today’s members.
A major turning point was the dialogue between the Lutheran World Federation and the SDA church, which concluded in 1998. The final report recognised the SDA church as a “free church and a Christian world communion” and no longer a sect.
[The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) is a global communion of national and regional Lutheran churches that work together for a just, peaceful, and reconciled world.]
It can be clearly seen that the original 1872 guideline Fundamental Principles have been changed by the Seventh-day Adventist church over time; the official teachings of the denomination are now expressed in its 28 Fundamental Beliefs. This statement of beliefs was originally adopted by the General Conference in 1980, with an additional belief (number 11) being added in 2005.
Seventh-day Adventists (SDAs) are not members of the World Council of Churches [WCC] but do participate in other forms of Christian dialogue and communion, such as the Conference of Secretaries of the Christian World Communions [CS/CWC]. They engage in ecumenical relationships to share information and build understanding without compromising their distinct identity or beliefs. Their involvement is a way to promote dialogue and humanitarian work, but they have not joined formal bodies like the WCC, which they see as a way to maintain their unique mission and identity.
Note: The words “Godhead” and “Trinity” are not interchangeable.  “Godhead” speaks to who is divine, or divinity. The early uses of the word trinity, was used to label 3; as in God, Jesus and their Holy Spirit. Just as a ‘pair’ or ‘dual’ would be connected to the number 2, Trinity would be connected to the number 3.  But over time, this “Trinity” would be shaped into a doctrine that comes from Rome. SDA people over 100 years ago knew this and didn’t want any part of the word, and especially the doctrine that would follow.