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The following article suggests that at least in the U.S., the Adventism of today is not the Adventism of our past. Food for thought. https://atoday.org/making-adventism-beautiful-again-an-invitation-to-a-serious-conversation/

Just wanting to thank our veterans and their families!!!

In recent yars, the U.S. military has failed to meet it/s enlistment goals. https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/careers/the-military-s-recruiting-surge/ar-AA1QhJcb?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=DCTS&cvid=6914e24354594c9f84d681b68dcb3fb2&ei=24 This ended in fiscal year 2025, when most enlistment goals were met.

I served as an Army Chaplain during the time when women first began to enter the military. In many ways, I think that the foundational issues that were faced by the military are also the ones faced by us in the SDA Church. While that may not become clear in what I post here, on this Veteran's Day I thought that I might post some of my thinking on this subject from both the military and SDA aspect. * I became an Active-Duty Army Chaplain at the same time as the second female Army chaplain. To this day, I am angry at how the Army as an institution, allowed her to be treated. The following link takes you to my somewhat angry comment published at the time of her death. https://www.mykeeper.com/ChaplainMajorRetBettyWPace * I served a 3-year tour on the teaching faculty of the Army Chaplain School. Generally, the students were qualified to serve as Chaplains. A Few were not. During my time there, a SDA student left the Army as it became apparent that such was not for him. We should expect the same for our females and not attribute the lack of success of one to the gender/denomination as a whole. * I was the first Army Chaplain to serve in combat in a COED unit. [NOTE: This is not the place to get into a discussion as to what you may think you have heard about World War II, and what you may think to be exceptions.] In general, the females worked harder to perform because they knew that they had more that they had to prove, than did the males. * As a result of my combat experience and my position on the Chaplain school faculty I became involved in other experiences intend to educate people as to female military members. * At an earlier time in Adventist history, I was involved in helping women who alleged to have been abused by SDA clergy to have their allegations properly heard by competent authority. * I have provided pastoral care to such women. As a result of the above, I will be the first to say that women in Adventism today have achieved a measure of success. But an engrained bias against them still exists. This is true even in the Conferences that employ female clergy. In one aspect of this problem, I see Adventist women as seemingly accepting it. I do not see it changing until some woman finds herself in a position to do something about it.

One of the interesting persons in the above video is Ronald D. Graybill. "Ronald Graybill’s early scholarship earned him an invitation to the Ellen G. White Estate to assist Arthur L. White in writing a six-volume biography of his grandmother. During his 13 years at the White Estate, Ron completed his doctorate in American religious history at Johns Hopkins University,. . .." The policy of the White Estate, at that time, required that all citations from the files of EGW's original writings, must be approved prior to any publication. Of course, Graybill had total access to those files. He included in this thesis one quotation, without obtaining formal permission to do so. For that he was removed from his position at the White Estate. His thesis has been published. The following is a review of that book which also contains some additional information. https://spectrummagazine.org/culture/visions-and-revisions-textual-history-ellen-g-whites-writings-book-review/ As a correction to the above statement, the following book is actually Graybill's thesis, which is sold by Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/Power-Prophecy-Religious-Founders-Nineteenth/dp/1708222642/ref=sr_1_2?crid=1OW73Q3O5UYGW&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.NfgsgVtZU1Bd2vFOqN4Un3Zk48IxQs7FneKfIAtALFZcRD9rqS_qGcpQwe3bSh-FlYdjL7OwUvCrAJHFlQYw3TmNuDUYvE_R60fO45KfCU2t8i8H1yQlZMAg5jsVLnNhXldEeCXU8MmVgdeNRpCW7g.EOwj5ZRuBUPLSKaFGbzbTzmiaDkEaxYfFxj0qWx_fjI&dib_tag=se&keywords=Ronald+D.+Graybill+book&qid=1762872335&sprefix=ronald+d.+graybill+book%2Caps%2C213&sr=8-2 The following is a major discussion of Graybill's departure from the White Estate. https://www.andrews.edu/library/car/cardigital/Periodicals/Spectrum/1983-1984_Vol_14/22253185.READER_008.pdf

In a short response to the question: I am not aware of EGW ever repudiating her early understanding of the Trinity. From my perspective, she simply moved on, slowly, over a period of time, to a more orthodox position. In an Internet search, which I did today, I came up with the following statement, which I think may have come from the White Estate, I could be wrong.

Just like with Jeremiah 24's vision of the bad figs. Human source, but special insight

I know how you should respond: stop making it the most pressing issue in your relationship. It isn’t your place to remove the speck from their eye. Logeye!

The above video lasts for close to 2 hours. I am about 90 minutes into watching it. I will finish later. One point; It suggests that the White Estate was not the major player in banning the book, rather it was Pacific Press. The book and discussion clearly informed that the messages of Ellen White came from multiple sources, some of which were clearly human. I found it very helpful to understand that from this perspective that her use of the phrase "I was shown." should not be limited to divine sources but clearly include her human sources.

* The White Estate attempted to ban the book. * I seriously doubt that the subject of the Trinity will be addressed. I do not know. * The entire book has been placed on the Internet and can be downloaded. * The following is a copy of the Table of contents of the book, which may suggest the discussion subjects: INTRODUCTION Eric Anderson HOW THIS BOOK WAS BORN THE ACHIEVEMENT OF ELLEN WHITE HOW TO READ THIS BOOK PART ONE Who Was Ellen White? 17 CHAPTER ONE ELLEN WHITE WAS A WOMAN Terrie Dopp Aamodt 33 \CHAPTER TWO EMBRACING ELLEN WHITE: WHAT HER DEFENDERS AND DETRACTORS MISUNDERSTAND Jonathan Butler 51 CHAPTER THREE MESSENGER WITH A NEW ENGLAND STYLE Gilbert M. Valentine PART TWO How to Read Ellen White 73 CHAPTER FOUR THE PROPHET AS PREACHER Paul E. McGraw 85 CHAPTER FIVE ELLEN WHITE AS A DEVOTIONAL WRITER Denis Fortin 97 CHAPTER SIX “GOD WANTS US ALL TO HAVE COMMON SENSE”: ELLEN WHITE’S GUIDELINES FOR INTERPRETATION Eric Anderson PART THREE How to Believe In Ellen White 111 CHAPTER SEVEN WHAT MY TEACHERS NEVER TAUGHT ME George R. Knight 125 CHAPTER EIGHT TURNING POINTS Donald R. McAdams 149 CHAPTER NINE ELLEN WHITE FOR TODAY: A TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY AFFIRMATION Ronald D. Graybill and Lawrence Geraty 157 AFTERWORD WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE? Niels-Erik Andreasen 173 APPENDIX ELLEN WHITE FOR TODAY: AN APPEAL 174 CONTRIBUTORS 176 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS [These page numbers are at the tops of each page, thus the contents of page 9 are seen below]

Who tried to ban it? If I have time I plan on watching this - does anyone know if the Trinity will be addressed in this stream? I've up against the wall on a large project I'm managing so I have little time for the next two weeks but I would like to see this if the subject of the Trinity will come up!

The best way to deal with homosexual friends and family is to treat them with respect, dignity, friendship - which includes minding your own business. One of the greatest evils of Christianity is its tendency to attract to its ranks busybodies who are obsessed with what other people do in private with their genitals.