I was born and raised in a Seventh day adventist family and went to SDAs schools first grade through university. I never doubted what I was taught or questioned it. Fast forward to the 1980s when my husband and I divorced. I quit going to the SDA church because the people were not understanding. In fact, my 8 year old son heard two of the older ladies talking about me and the divorce and he told me. I found support in a group called Parents without Partners. I made many friends there and and am still in contact with some of them. Fast forward again to 2002. My Mom died this year. My son was in the USAF in Texas, was married and I was on the way to being a grandmother. I wanted to be near blood family, so I prayed about it and God provided a job that was held for me while I moved. I had been living in VA and moved to Nevada. I arrived in NV in Nov 2002. I started attending the SDA church in Las Vegas. At Christmas on of the pastors challenged our Bible class to read the NT without any other books. I took him up on this challenge. At the same time, God brought my attention to a website on my computer. It is about Ellen G. White, a founder of the SDA church. I had been raised to revere her as she was inspired by God, I had been taught. I read it and found that she plagiarized, had others write for her and claimed that she was inspired by God/God showed her/God told her.
I remember when I finished reading about this plagiarism. I said out loud if that is what she did, I am not going back to that church. When I said that I felt a burden lifted off my shoulders that I did not know was there. In the meantime I was reading the NT. I went and bought a Strong's Bible Concordance. I took each of the SDA doctrines, looked up the key words in the concordance and read everything the Bible said about them. I found out that the sabbath was given to the Children of Israel at Mt Sinai and was not a memorial of creation as I had been taught. I learned about the old covenant made with Israel at Sinai and the new covenant that came into effect at the cross. I learned how much God loves us. The book of John is my favorite book. God taught me, using the Holy Spirit. I learned we are sealed by the Holy Spirit. I followed the Jesus I learned about in the Bible and He led me out of the SDA church and into the fellowship of Christians he has in this world. I am so thankful. I have learned that we have an awesome God.
DRL/Diana
I remember when I finished reading about this plagiarism. I said out loud if that is what she did, I am not going back to that church. When I said that I felt a burden lifted off my shoulders that I did not know was there. In the meantime I was reading the NT. I went and bought a Strong's Bible Concordance. I took each of the SDA doctrines, looked up the key words in the concordance and read everything the Bible said about them. I found out that the sabbath was given to the Children of Israel at Mt Sinai and was not a memorial of creation as I had been taught. I learned about the old covenant made with Israel at Sinai and the new covenant that came into effect at the cross. I learned how much God loves us. The book of John is my favorite book. God taught me, using the Holy Spirit. I learned we are sealed by the Holy Spirit. I followed the Jesus I learned about in the Bible and He led me out of the SDA church and into the fellowship of Christians he has in this world. I am so thankful. I have learned that we have an awesome God.
DRL/Diana
