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Characterized by the observance of a Saturday Sabbath, the Seventh-day Adventist Church arose out of the Millerite movement in the mid-1800s. Its most prominent founder was Ellen G. White, whose writings are still circulated.

After the Great Disappointment, when the Second Coming of Christ did not occur in 1844, Ellen White advanced an explanation that was first made by Hiram Edson, which was the Christ had begun His work of return in 1844, but that He did so by moving into the heavenly sanctuary, and was engaged in cleansing it through work that would not be visible. This confirmed William Miller's original predictions and removed the predicted return into a variable that couldn't be verified.

Ellen G. White offered something else, as well. She was a visionary who claimed to have direct access to God. Through spoken prophecies, she was able to move the church in various directions, and into doctrines that they would be unlikely to have arrived at through Bible study alone.

Under her direction, the movement adopted the Saturday Sabbath, the practice for which their name was later derived. It was in the 1850s that they began to be known as the Seventh-day Adventists, which became the official name of the group in 1863.

Seventh-day Adventists believe that people are mortal by nature, and that salvation may be attained through the grace of Jesus Christ, and by His sacrifice on the cross. They believe that the dead lie in an unconscious state until they are resurrected on the day that Christ returns. After the final judgment, the righteous will become immortal while the unrighteous will be destroyed by fire. When Christ returns, a new earth will be created from the ruins of the old, and this will be the eternal home of the righteous.

Seventh-day Adventists practice baptism of adults by immersion and include foot washing in preparation for Communion. Members are encouraged to tithe.

The church emphasizes the importance of health and wellness and soon became associated with a larger health reform movement that was active in the United States in the late 1800s, taking cues from the health regulations recorded in Hebrew law. In 1866, White was instrumental in the founding of the Battle Creek Sanitarium, which was later associated with the career of Dr. John Harvey Kellogg. In fact, two large cereal companies, Kellogg's and Post's, were founded by former employees of the sanitarium. The Seventh-day Adventists also founded a network of hospitals, many of which are still in operation today.

Adventists also operate a worldwide network of elementary and secondary schools, and own more than a hundred colleges and universities.

They also own several publishing houses, and their radio and television broadcasts reach nearly every country in the world, broadcasting 24-hours a day from a global satellite system.

Adventist relief agencies distribute food and clothing throughout the world, particularly where disasters have occurred. Adventists drill water wells, teach mothers about child nutrition, minister to individuals with AIDS or HIV. Adventist volunteers teach farmers to become self-sufficient

Unlike the Jehovah's Witnesses and some other groups that evolved from the Adventist Movement, the Seventh-day Adventist Church has been active in interdenominational efforts, promoting religious liberty and separation of church and state. Adventists organize symposiums and other large gatherings of Christians. Although they do not have a membership in the World Council of Churches, they send observers to meetings of the association.

The Seventh-day Adventists are the largest of many denominations to come from the teachings that began with William Miller.

Several dissenting groups have been formed from the Seventh-day Adventists, as well. The largest of these was the Seventh-day Adventist Reform Movement, which began during World War I, over the decision of some European church leaders to abandon the denomination's early pacifist beliefs. Since the American Civil War, Adventists were known to be non-combatants, who would substitute work in hospitals for combat roles during war. Without consulting the full body of the denomination, the Seventh-day Adventists in Europe decided that was permissible for Adventists to bear arms in military service. Although there was a later apology for this, a large group of Adventists formed a separate group that became known as the Seventh-day Adventist Reform Movement. A second group broke away for the same reasons but chose to form a separate group known as the True and Free Seventh-day Adventists, centered largely in Russia.

The Seventh-day Adventist Church is organized as a representative form of government consisting of, from bottom to top, the local church, local conference, union conference, and general conference.

 

 

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