Name: SHIMRI LOISE L.

MAGSICO (RDF)

Date: September 18, 2022

Chapter 4 Reflection Paper

Since the organization of Adventism, the pioneers had really focused on institutional

and lifestyle development. According to the material, “between 1863 and 1888, there

were also significant shifts in Adventist doctrine about global mission.” The

Sabbatarians were prepared to organize once they had finished that duty in order to

better preserve their beliefs and legacy and to make it easier for them to reach out to

other people. An emerging idea of mission ran parallel to these fundamental phases.

The year 1863 witnessed a big shift as Adventists began to focus on the type of life

they should live and to establish institutions to support that lifestyle. The growth of

Adventism and present truth moved on to lifestyle problems (such as health reform)

once the doctrinal and organizational foundations were established. We see, truth is

always evolving and God guides His followers carefully. The year 1863 was a

significant turning point in Adventist history. The majority of the health reform

concepts and methods used by Seventh-day Adventists were not unique to them. It

aimed to change harmful lifestyle choices and blatant ignorance of how to live and

take care of one's body. Many of its ideas—such as frequent washing, germs as a

source of disease, the negative effects of tobacco, the dangers of such types of

medications, and the significance of a balanced diet—are now considered

conventional knowledge.

In 1864, Adventism adopted its enduring stance on military service. Since the 1860s,

the church has encouraged noncombatant conscientious collaboration with the

military service for its drafted members while urging its youth to refrain from

volunteering. However, the church has remained to acknowledge that it is ultimately

up to each person's conscience to decide which of the several military options to

pursue, reflecting the acrimony of the early arguments. The Seventh-day Adventist

Church and the US government had come to an amicable agreement for the new

denomination's followers by the end of the war. The government established

guidelines for conscientious believers who were drafted to work in hospitals and other

settings where they would have the chance to do so without killing. The religion in

return counseled its followers to support their nation in times of need. As a result, by

1864, the government had made noncombat options available. The denomination had

formed barely in time to get formal recognition and offer its adherents the

noncombatant choice.

Between 1863 and 1888, a third institutional and way of life growth focused on

Christian education. The emphasis on education developed later than other trends

because, historically, religious movements that emphasize the approaching end of the

world have not felt a strong need to educate their followers' children. To aid in the

planning of the new school, Ellen White wrote a significant piece titled "Proper
Education." She highlighted that, assuming the school would prioritize the Bible, it

should work to cultivate in its students a balance of their academic, physical, and

spiritual abilities. She emphasized the importance of a practical education that linked

work in the field with academic study. These ideas were backed by a large number of

other reformers in the nineteenth century. Due to a dearth of educators familiar with

the reform concepts, the Adventist Church had a difficult time adopting them.

Then, denomination gradually gained a clearer understanding of actual tithe during

the 1860s and 1870s. The General Conference treasury would receive $150,000 a year

instead of $40,000, according to Canright, who presented his reasons before the

General Conference session that November. The meeting decided in response to his

speeches that it was everyone's responsibility "under ordinary circumstances, to

donate one-tenth of all their money from whatever source, to the cause of God" (RH,

Apr. 6, 1876). Following that, Seventh-day Adventists began to tithe more consistently

according to the Bible.

The group's conclusions, which were based on biblical principles, were occasionally

repeated by Ellen White in a vision, which helped others who were still unsure

embrace it. Therefore, rather than as an initiation, it is appropriate to think of Mrs.

White's involvement in the development of doctrine as confirmation. However, Ellen

White's contributions to Adventist living do not fit into the same image. Even while

Adventists in the twenty-first century have a propensity to view doctrinal and lifestyle
issues as being of equal importance, that was not the founders of the denomination's

stance. We see that Ellen White had a dual role in the establishment of early

Adventism, focusing more on lifestyle improvement and less on doctrinal formation.

Only because of the presence of recent converts did early Adventists give up the

closed door. They kept downplaying their contribution to the mission even after that.

James White, like he had done so often before, was in the forefront of those who

wanted to see the denomination's mission expand.In numerous countries, the

denomination became founded. However, it maintained a narrow perspective on

missions. As stated in the material, “Adventism had little to no vision for its mission

in the New World's vast Roman Catholic regions or among the "heathen."

Nevertheless, even this blindness had a purpose. If the shut-door period of Adventist

missiology gave time for the development of a doctrinal foundation, the mission to the

Protestant nations period gave the denomination the chance to build population and

financial bases in key areas that it could later use for sending missionaries around the

world. The denomination was prepared for the mission "explosion" and spread "to

every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people" by the year 1890(Rev. 14:6).”

In the last paragraph/parts, it was focused on the other developments of the

Seventh-day Adventist Church. The first one was the movement of Adventism in the

white population, followed by the passing of the fore members of the SDA pioneers

Joseph Bates and James White who contributed so much in the organization of the
denomination. And the last was the agitation of the passing of the sunday laws.

The whole chapter really focused on the different developments of our church. I

realized then how our pioneers have sacrificed so much for the work of the church

and the organisation of it. And we have seen that God blessed the work so much.

There is really a need to adhere to what God wants us to sacrifice and to make

because we are living here with a purpose to preach and share the gospel that had

given to us.

Lastly, I learned that the doctrines, the principles, the beliefs, the writings, and

everything that has been done in the past is very important for the people in the future.

Without these learnings, there is no guide for us. The Bible honestly is different to be

learned and thank God for the pen of inspiration which really guided us so much and

also to all of the writings which helped in the furtherance of the church.