Seventh-day Adventist Church

The Seventh-day Adventist Church is a Christian denomination which, as its name suggests, is best-known for its teaching that Saturday, the seventh day of the week, is the Sabbath. The denomination, which was officially established in 1863, grew out of the Millerite movement in the United States during the middle part of the 19th century. Seventh-day Adventists are also known for their teachings regarding diet and health, their beliefs in the unconscious state of the dead, and an "investigative judgment".

Origins


The Seventh-day Adventist Church was born out of the Millerite Movement of the 1840s, which was part of the wave of revivalism known as the Second Great Awakening. The Millerite movement is named after William Miller, who, during his early adulthood, became a Deist. After fighting in the War of 1812, Miller bought a farm in Low Hampton, New York, (now a historic site owned and operated by Adventist Heritage Ministry), where he began attending a local Baptist church to please his grandmother. One day, when reading a sermon upon request of the local deacons, he was convinced of the benefits of Christian salvation. As a result of ridicule from his deist friends, he began studying the Bible, using a concordance as his only study aid. Through Miller's knowledge of history he noticed that the events listed in the Book of Daniel chapters 2 and 7 matched up with historical events. One day when studying Daniel 8:14 he became convinced that the cleansing referred to Christ returning to cleanse the church. Here he applied "common sense" reasoning, such as the year-for-a-day principle,[an example] to the prophecies of Daniel and Revelation. His application of these techniques to the "2300-day prophecy" of Daniel 8:14 led him to conclude that the second coming of Christ would occur "about the year 1843." The Millerite movement culminated with the "seventh month movement," which taught that the "priestly ministry of Christ" would culminate with the cleansing of the earth, pinpointing the second coming of Christ on or before October 22, 1844. When He did not come, this became known as "the Great Disappointment."

A small number of Millerites believed that their calculations were correct, but that their understanding of the sanctuary being cleansed was wrong, and they began to teach that something else happened in 1844. Their Bible study led them to the conviction that in that year Jesus had entered into the "Most Holy Place" of the heavenly sanctuary, and began an "investigative judgment" of the world: a process through which there is an examination of the heavenly records to "determine who, through repentance of sin and faith in Christ, are entitled to the benefits of atonement," after which Jesus will return to earth. According to the church's teaching, the return of Christ may occur very soon, though they are determined to never set dates for His coming in accordance with the book of Matthew which says, "no one knows the day or the hour" (24:36).

At about the same time that the followers of the movement were studying the sanctuary, the question of the biblical day of rest and worship was raised. The foremost proponent of Sabbath-keeping among early Adventists was retired sea captain Joseph Bates. Bates was introduced to the Sabbath doctrine by a tract written by a Millerite preacher named Thomas M. Preble who in turn had been influenced by a young Seventh Day Baptist lady by the name of Rachel Oakes Preston.

This message was gradually accepted and formed the topic of the first edition of the church publication, The Present Truth which appeared in July 1849. While initially it was believed that the "sabbath" started at 6 pm, by 1855 it was generally accepted that the "sabbath" begins at sunset.

For about 20 years, the Adventist movement consisted of a loosely knit group of people who adhered to this message. Among its greatest supporters were James White, Ellen G. White and Joseph Bates. After intense discussions a formally organized church called the Seventh-day Adventist Church was established in Battle Creek, Michigan, in May 1863, with a membership of 3,500. Through the evangelistic efforts of its ministers and laity and the guidance of Ellen G. White, the church quickly grew and established a presence beyond North America during the late 1800s. In 1903, the denominational headquarters were moved from Battle Creek to temporary quarters in Washington D.C. and soon thereafter established in nearby Takoma Park, Maryland. In 1989, the headquarters was moved again, this time to Silver Spring, Maryland.

Doctrine
Seventh-day Adventist doctrine is based on the Anabaptist Protestant tradition. The Protestant doctrine of the "priesthood of all believers" is so central to the thinking of Seventh-day Adventists that members have always been encouraged to study the Bible to discover truth for themselves guided of the Holy Spirit. Adventist doctrine resembles mainstream trinitarian Protestant theology, with some notable exceptions.

Sabbath
Seventh-day Adventists believe that Saturday, the seventh day of the week, is the biblical Sabbath which God set "apart for the lofty purpose of enriching the divine-human relationship". It is noted that the Sabbath is a recurring message in the Bible, mentioned in the Creation account, at Sinai, in the ministry of Jesus Christ and in the ministries of the apostles. The Sabbath serves as a weekly memorial to Creation and is a symbol of redemption, from both Egypt and sin. By keeping the Sabbath, Adventists are reminded of the way that God can make them holy, like he did the Sabbath, and they show their loyalty to God by keeping the commandment in the Decalogue. The Sabbath is also a time for Adventists to spend with other people and with God.

To help in keeping the seventh day of the week holy, Adventists abstain from secular work on that day. Seventh-day Adventists will often spend much of Friday preparing meals and tidying their homes for the Sabbath. Gathering with other believers to welcome in the Sabbath hours is encouraged. Adventists specify that the Sabbath should not be made into a holiday but rather should be intended as a rest for believers to grow spiritually. It should be noted, however, that although Seventh-day Adventists do not believe that they are saved by keeping Saturday as the Sabbath, they attach considerably greater significance to Saturday-Sabbath keeping than other denominations attach to worship on Sunday.

Perhaps most unique about the Adventist view of the Sabbath is that it is viewed as a sign of a believer's acceptance of righteousness by faith. Where many people would see Sabbath teaching as works-based doctrine, Adventists believe that keeping the Sabbath shows that they have faith in the redemptive act of Christ. The Sabbath commandment is seen as an act of faith in God's ideal for the believer, although its significance may not be seen by non-believers.

Seventh-day Adventists teach that there is no evidence of the Sabbath being changed to Sunday in the Bible. They teach instead that it was changed by gradual acceptance of Sunday worship gatherings kept by the early church in Rome to distinguish themselves from the Jews and to align themselves with political authorities. This change became more universally accepted with the establishment of Roman emperor Constantine's Sunday law of 321 AD and the decree at the Council of Laodicea that in canon 29 declared that Christians should avoid work on Sunday. Adventists claim that the change of the day from Saturday to Sunday is fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies found in Daniel 7 which points to a human authority attempting to change biblical laws. The Adventist Church identifies the Roman Catholic Church as this prophetic figure and quotes such publications as the 1977 edition of The Convert's Catechism of Catholic Doctrine which reads:
 * "Q. Which is the Sabbath day?
 * "A. Saturday is the Sabbath day.
 * "Q. Why do we observe Sunday instead of Saturday?
 * "A. We observe Sunday instead of Saturday because the Catholic Church transferred the solemnity from Saturday to Sunday."

"The Church, on the other hand, after changing the day of rest from the Jewish Sabbath, or seventh day of the week, to the first, made the Third Commandment refer to Sunday as the day to be kept holy as the Lord's Day." Catholic Encyclopedia (Article: Ten Commandments, second paragraph)

(It should be noted that changes are being made in newer Catechisms written for Catholic converts to align their teachings with the Bible and traditional protestant doctrines. Originally the second commandment "Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image..." was removed from teaching in the Catholic Church.  In order to keep the decalogue intact, the commandment to observe Sabbath was taught to be the third rather than the fourth, and the tenth was divided into two parts.  Modern writers for Catholic Catechisms lean toward including the missing text, but maintain the old order.)

According to common Seventh-day Adventist beliefs, there will be a time before the Second Advent in which the message of the Ten Commandments and in particular the keeping of the seventh day of the week, Saturday, as Sabbath will be conveyed to the whole world. They believe that Protestants and Catholics will unite to enforce Sunday legislation.

In reference to the creation of an Image to the Beast Revelation 13-17, Ellen G. White stated:

"When the leading churches of the United States, uniting on such points of doctrines as are held by them in common, shall influence the state to enforce their decrees and to sustain their institutions; then Protestant America will have formed an image of the Roman hierarchy, and the infliction of civil penalties upon dissenters will inevitably result." -Great Controversy p. 445

Second Coming of Christ
Seventh-day Adventists believe in an imminent, universally visible Second Coming of Christ, which will be preceded by a time of trouble. The teaching that Christ will be visible by all is based on which says "every eye will see him." They believe that this is the time of the event of where "the dead in Christ will rise," along with the righteous living. It is believed that the unrighteous, or wicked, will be raised after the millennium.

Hell and the state of the dead
Seventh-day Adventists believe that death is a state of unconscious sleep until the resurrection. They believe the resurrection takes place at the second coming of Jesus (in the case of the righteous) and after the millennium of (in the case of the wicked). This means that hell does not exist at the present time, and that the wicked will be permanently destroyed after the millennium of Revelation 20. (The theological term for this teaching is Annihilationism.)  Seventh-day Adventists base this belief on (and many other verses throughout the bible regarding the state of the dead) which states: the "dead know nothing" and  which contains a description of the dead being raised from the grave at the second coming. These verses, it is argued, indicate that death is only a period or form of slumber.

Baptism
Seventh-day Adventists practice believers baptism by full immersion in a similar manner to the Baptists. They argue that baptism requires knowing consent and moral responsibility. Hence, they do not baptize infants or children that do not demonstrate knowing consent and moral responsibility, but instead dedicate them, which is symbolic of the parents', the community's, and the church's gratefulness to God for the child, and their commitment to raising the child to love Jesus. Seventh-day Adventists believe that baptism is a public statement to commit one's life to Jesus and is a prerequisite for church membership. Baptism is only practiced after the candidate has gone through Bible lessons. According to the Bible, the act of baptism shows that the person has repented of sins and wishes to live a life in Christ.

Investigative judgment and salvation
The investigative judgment is a unique Adventist belief, which teaches that the judgment of God's professed people began on October 22, 1844 when Christ entered the Holy of Holies in the heavenly sanctuary. The purpose of this judgment is to vindicate the saints before the onlooking universe, to prepare them for Christ's imminent Second Coming, and to demonstrate God's righteous character in His dealings with humanity. This judgment will also separate true believers from those who falsely claim to be ones.

Spirit of Prophecy
Another church teaching is that of the "Spirit of Prophecy" with a role as an identifying mark of the remnant church, which they believe was manifested in the ministry of Ellen G. White. The church's 28 Fundamental Beliefs document states that her "writings are a continuing and authoritative source of truth which provide for the church comfort, guidance, instruction, and correction." Her writings also make clear that the Bible is the standard by which all teaching and experience must be tested.

Noncredalism
Traditionally, Seventh-day Adventists have opposed the formulation of credal statements. For purposes of internal coherence, however, Seventh-day Adventists have formed a set of fundamental beliefs and prefer to view them as descriptors rather than prescriptors. In 2005, during the General Conference Session, the church expanded its set of fundamental beliefs from 27 to 28. Theologically speaking, Seventh-day Adventism's noncredal stance actually is a statement of a form of the Protestant ideal, "Sola scriptura": "The Bible is our only creed..." is their succinct retort to credalists.

Sabbath activities
A typical Seventh-day Adventist's Sabbath routine will usually begin on Friday evening with sundown worship at home or in church, known as Vespers. Saturday morning is greeted with Bible study and a prayer of thanksgiving for physical and spiritual rest and repose. Adventists believe "that we are called to grow into the likeness of His character, communing with Him daily in prayer, feeding on His Word,..."

Another activity that occurs on Sabbath is Sabbath School or Bible School. Sabbath School is a community-based Bible study time that may include singing, mission stories, prayers, and studying the Bible. Different groups are formed in which biblical themes and practical questions can be freely discussed. Usually there are special meetings for children in different age groups provided during that time.

After a small break, the community joins together again for a church service that follows a typical evangelical format which may differ in different churches but which will always have a sermon as a central feature.

Seventh-day Adventists practice communion four times a year. The communion is an open service (available to members and non-members), based on the Gospel account of John 13. The communion service includes a feet washing ceremony, known as the Ordinance of Humility. The Ordinance of Humility is meant to symbolize Christ's washing of his disciples' feet at the Last Supper. Participants segregate by gender to separate rooms to conduct this ritual, although some congregations allow married couples to perform the ordinance on each other, so there is also an area for married couples. After its completion, participants return to the main sanctuary for consumption of the Lord's Supper, which consists of unleavened bread and unfermented grape juice.

In some churches, members and friends will stay at the church for a potluck lunch, for which everyone contributes a dish. Visitors are always welcomed.

Sabbath afternoon activities may vary widely depending on the cultural, ethnic and social background. Some may have an Adventist Youth program which is focused on the youths of the church, and some churches may have a scout-like program called Pathfinders that focuses on the study of the Bible and their relationship with God, mainly through physical activities such as hiking and nature viewing.

Mission
Started in the late 1800s, Adventist mission work today reaches people in more than 204 countries of the world. Adventist mission workers preach the gospel, teach relevant living skills, heal people through Adventist hospitals and clinics, spread the gospel on radio and television, run development projects to make better lives for people, and provide comforting relief in times of suffering.

Outreach
Missionary outreach of the Seventh-day Adventist church is aimed to both unbelievers and other Christian denominations. Seventh-day Adventists believe that Christ has called His believers to minister to the whole world. The church ministers in over 204 countries worldwide. Adventists are cautious, however, to ensure that evangelism does not impede on the basic rights of the individual. Religious liberty is a stance that the Seventh-day Adventist church supports and promotes. Traditional Adventist evangelistic efforts consisted of street missions and the distribution of tracts such as "The Present Truth," which was published by James White as early as 1849.

Adventists, as demonstrated in their expansive distribution of tracts, have for a long time, like their Millerite fathers, been proponents of media-based ministries. Until J. N. Andrews was sent to Switzerland in 1874, Adventist global efforts consisted entirely of the posting of tracts such as White's to various locations. The reading of such material was the primary reason that Andrews was eventually called to travel overseas.

In the last century, these media based efforts have also made use of emerging media such as radio and television. The first of these was H. M. S. Richard's radio show, "Voice of Prophecy," which was initially broadcast in Los Angeles in 1929. Since then Adventists have been on the forefront of media evangelism, and one program, "It Is Written," was the first religious program to air on colour television. Today, "The Hope Channel" the official television network of the church, and an independent ministry runs the Three Angels Broadcasting Network (3ABN), both operate internationally, broadcasting 24 hours a day on both cable and satellite networks. In addition, a number of satellite broadcasted live evangelistic events have also been undertaken by evangelists such as Mark Finley, Dwight Nelson and others, addressing audiences of unknown numbers in up to 40 language's simultaneously.

Health, diet, and sexuality
Seventh-day Adventists present a health message that recommends vegetarianism and expects abstinence from pork, shellfish, and other foods proscribed as "unclean" in Leviticus 11, as well as from alcohol and tobacco.

The pioneers of the Seventh-day Adventist Church had much to do with the common acceptance of breakfast cereals into the Western diet. John Harvey Kellogg was one of the early founders of the Seventh-day Adventist health work. His development of breakfast cereals as a health food led to the founding of Kellogg's by his brother William K. Kellogg.

Seventh-day Adventists run a large number of hospitals and health-related institutions. Their predominant school of medicine in North America, Loma Linda University, is located in Loma Linda, California. In Australia, the church-owned Sanitarium Health Food Company is one of Australia's leading manufacturers of health and vegetarian-related products.

Research funded by the National Institutes of Health has shown that the average Adventist in California lives four to ten years longer than the average Californian. The research, as cited by the cover story of the November 2005 issue of "National Geographic" magazine, asserts that Adventists live longer due to consumption of nuts and beans, Sabbath observance and a firm faith.

The official Seventh-day Adventist position on abortion is that "abortions for reasons of birth control, gender selection, or convenience are not condoned by the Church." At times, however, women may face exceptional circumstances that present serious moral or medical dilemmas, such as significant threats to the pregnant woman's life, serious jeopardy to her health, and pregnancy resulting from rape or incest, in these cases individuals are counseled to make their own decisions.

According to an official statement from the General Conference, heterosexual marriages are the only biblically ordained grounds for sexual intimacy. Seventh-day Adventists do not perform same-sex marriages and gay men cannot be ordained. Furthermore, a same-sex affair is one of the sanctioned grounds for a divorce. Masturbation has also been traditionally frowned upon (although not damned) as an unhealthy, self-centered practice, contrary to God's design for sex to be a shared experience within marriage.

Structure and polity
The Seventh-day Adventist Church is run by a form of democratic representation which mixes hierarchical (or episcopal), presbyterian and congregational elements. All church offices are elected from the grass-roots upwards and no positions are permanent.

The local church is the foundation level of organisational structure and is the public face of the church. Every baptised Adventist is a member of a local church and has voting powers within that church. A number of church offices exist within the local church, including the ordained positions of pastor, elder and deacon, as well as the largely bookkeeping positions of clerk and treasurer. All of these positions, except that of pastor, are appointed by the vote of a local church business meeting or elected committees.

Directly above the local church in structure is the local conference, mission or field. The conference is an organisation of churches within a state, or part thereof, which appoints ministers, owns church land and organises the distribution of tithes and payments to ministers. The conference is also responsible for the appointment and ordination of ministerial staff.

Above the local conference is the union conference which embodies a number of conferences within a particular area.

The highest level of governance within the church structure is the General Conference which consists of 13 divisions, each assigned to various geographic locations. The General Conference is the church authority and has the final say in matters of conjecture and administrative issues. The General Conference is headed by the office of President, which is currently (c. 2006) held by Jan Paulsen. The General Conference head office is in Silver Spring, Maryland, USA.

Each organization is governed by a general session which occurs at certain intervals. This is usually when general decisions are decided upon. The president of the General Conference, for instance, is elected at the General Conference Session every five years. Delegates to a session are appointed by organisations at a lower level. For example, each local church appoints delegates to a conference session.

The church manual gives provisions for each level of government to create educational, healthcare, publishing, and other institutions that are seen within the call of the Great Commission.

Other institutions
Seventh-day Adventists have had a long interest in education. The Adventist church runs one of the largest unified Protestant education systems in the world. They operate some 5,700 preschools, primary and secondary schools, as well as colleges, universities, seminaries and medical schools in about 145 countries worldwide. This education system involves some 66,000 teachers and 1,257,000 students. The Adventist educational program is comprehensive, encompassing "mental, physical, social, and spiritual health" with "intellectual growth and service to humanity" its goal.

"See also:" List of Seventh-day Adventist colleges and universities

The Youth Department of the Seventh-day Adventist church runs an organisation for 10- to 16-year-old boys and girls called Pathfinders, which is similar to the Boy Scouts of America (BSA), except that membership is open to both boys and girls. Pathfinders exposes young people to such activities as camping, community service, personal mentorship, skills-based education, and trains them for leadership. For younger children, Adventurer, Eager Beaver, and Little Lambs clubs are programs that are available that feed into the Pathfinder program.

The Seventh-day Adventist Church has been active for over 100 years advocating for freedom of religion. In 1893 its leaders founded the International Religious Liberty Association, which is universal and non-sectarian. The Seventh-day Adventist Church State council serves to protect religious groups from legislation that may affect their religious practices. This is primarily achieved through advocacy. Recently the organisation has been fighting to pass legislation that will protect Seventh-day Adventist employees who wish to keep their Sabbath.

For over 50 years the church has been active in humanitarian aid through the work of the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA). ADRA works as a non-sectarian relief agency in over 120 countries worldwide. ADRA has been granted General Consultative Status by the United Nations Economic and Social Committee. Worldwide ADRA employs over 4,000 people to help both provide relief in crises and development in situations of poverty.

The church also has a number of extra-church organisations associations; these come under the umbrella of independent ministries. Some of these associated organizations are various health centers and hospitals, including Hugley Memorial Hospital in Fort Worth, TX.

Publishing
The Seventh-day Adventist Church owns and opperates many publishing companies around the world. Two of the largest are located in the United States; the Pacific Press Publishing Association and the Review and Herald Publishing Association.

Membership
The primary prerequisite for membership in the Seventh-day Adventist Church is baptism by immersion. This, according to the church manual, should only occur after the candidate has undergone proper teaching on what the church believes.

The Seventh-day Adventist Church, which baptises around 2,000 members a day, is one of the world's fastest-growing organizations, primarily due to increases in membership in the Third World. Depending on how the data was measured, it is said that church membership reached 1 million between 1955 and 1961, and hit 5 million in 1986. At the turn of the 21st century the church had 10,782,042 members which grew to 14,487,989 members at the end of 2004, and recent 2005 statistics showing 14,399,072 members). It is believed that around 25 million worship in churches every Saturday and the church operates in 203 out of 228 countries recognised by the United Nations.

Offshoots and schisms
Throughout the history of the denomination, there have been a number of groups who have left the church and formed their own movements. The best-known of these off-shoots is the Branch Davidians, themselves a schism within the larger Davidian movement. The Davidians formed in 1929, after Victor Houteff's message to the church in his book "The Shepherd's Rod" was rejected as being heretical. Few of Houteff's teachings were consistent with the mainstream views of the church. A succession dispute after Houteff's death in 1955 led to the formation of the Branches. Later, another ex-Adventist David Koresh (formerly Vernon Howell) led the Branch Davidians until he died in the conflagration in 1993 at the group's headquarters near Waco, Texas.

Following World War I, a group known as the Seventh Day Adventist Reform Movement was formed as a result of the actions of certain European church leaders during the war, who decided that it was acceptable for Adventists to take part in war. When attempts at reconciliation failed after the war, the group became organised as a separate church at a conference from July 14-20, 1925. The movement officially incorporated in 1949.

The most recent large-scale schism within Adventism was the Glacier View doctrinal crisis of 1980. This crisis centred around the 900-page research paper by Dr Desmond Ford entitled "Daniel 8:14, the Investigative Judgment, and the Kingdom of God." The paper questioned the church's position on the investigative judgment. The meetings at Glacier View rejected Ford's proposals. The schism caused by this rejection resulted in Ford being removed from teaching and having his ministerial credentials revoked. Many Adventists also left the church as a result. In the 25 years since, Ford has worked through the ministry of Good News Unlimited and has appeared on radio, television and in many print publications.

Gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered individuals who are, or had been, practicing Seventh-day Adventists have formed a social network that is not officially associated to the church called SDA Kinship International. In 1987 the Seventh-day Adventist Church filed legal action in California to prevent SDA Kinship from using the name "Seventh-day Adventist" and its abbreviation "SDA." In 1991 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that no breaches on naming were made by SDA Kinship and that they may continue to use their existing name.

These offshoot and schism groups are not affiliated with the Seventh-Day Adventist Church in any way. They operate under their own system of beliefs and are considered to be seperated entirely from the Seventh-Day Adventist Church altogether.

Outsider criticisms
A common discussion in Evangelical circles is whether or not Seventh-day Adventist doctrines are far enough from orthodox or mainstream teaching to be qualified as cultic, in the academic sense of the word. Much of that criticism originated with the defection of Dudley Marvin Canright, an Adventist minister, in 1887. Canright published the book Seventh-day Adventism Renounced in 1889. Many evangelical Christians follow the advice of Walter Martin from the Christian Research Institute who wrote:


 * ...it is perfectly possible to be a Seventh-day Adventist and be a true follower of Jesus Christ despite heterodox concepts...
 * Walter Martin, Kingdom of the CultsOff-site Link (Bethany House, Minneapolis, Minnesota), Updated edition 1997, p.517.

However, there are still those, such as John C. Whitcomb, who assert that Adventism is cultic based on their insularism from non-Christians and non-Adventists. Whitcomb cites the Adventist emphasis on an Adventist education as evidence of this, although many Christian denominations also have their own school system. It is also argued that the Adventist view on the Sabbath favors a works-based view of salvation.

Another criticism is related to the level of authority that Ellen G. White is given and some of her teachings. It is believed that the authority White is given is contrary to the traditional Protestant sola scriptura view of the Bible, as the sole inspired source of authority. The church has traditionally defended her writings as a manifestation of the gift of prophecy mentioned in the Bible itself (I Corinthians 12, Ephesians 4), and subject to it. The level of significance given to White's writings, however, varies throughout the church.

It has been noted by several other Christian groups in recent years that Adventists, although leadership has emphasised several of the uniquely Adventist doctrines, share the same basic beliefs with other Christians, which precludes the Adventist church on the whole from being a cult. A few radical members maintain a view of God and salvation not shared by most groups of traditional Seventh-day Adventists, who do not react well to this, and a few have left the Adventist Church as a result.

Official Seventh-day Adventist websites

 * Seventh-day Adventist Church The official website
 * Seventh-day Adventist Church: Fundamental beliefs Part of official website
 * Adventist Mission The official Mission website of the Adventist Church
 * Biblical Research Institute The official Theological Research Center
 * Ellen G. White Estate
 * Adventist News Network
 * Adventist Review The official Seventh-day Adventist Church periodical
 * Global Mission The official project giving website of the Adventist Church
 * Adventist Directory Locate Adventist Entities
 * Adventist Archives Search Historical Documents
 * Adventist Statistics Statistical Information and Reports
 * Adventist Yearbook The Official Organizational Directory

Neutral references

 * ReligiousTolerance.org profile
 * Religions in Canada, Department of National Defence, Government of Canada

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