Latter Day Doctrines
Latter Day Doctrines
The Lord Jesus Christ called Joseph Smith as a prophet to prepare the way for His coming in glory. Joseph Smith's life is a testimony to the reality of that calling. "I was called of my Heavenly Father to lay the foundation of this great work and kingdom in this dispensation, and testify of His revealed will to scattered Israel."1
"This 'dispensation'" is our time—the time prophesied when God will "gather . . . all things in Christ."2 Ancient prophets foretold a final gospel dispensation and prophesied of Joseph Smith, who would lead it. Jesus Christ3 and His prophets Moses,4 Moroni,5 and Joseph of Egypt6 are just a few that spoke of a great prophet to come.
Joseph Smith was foreordained by God to restore His work from all previous dispensations. "Every man who has a calling to minister to the inhabitants of the world," taught Joseph Smith, "was ordained to that very purpose in the Grand Council of heaven before this world was. I suppose that I was ordained to this very office in that Grand Council."7
Ellen G. White - Seventh Day Adventist's
In brief, she was a woman of remarkable spiritual gifts who lived most of her life during the nineteenth century (1827-1915), yet through her writings she is still making a revolutionary impact on millions of people around the world. During her lifetime she wrote more than 5,000 periodical articles and 40 books; but today, including compilations from her 50,000 pages of manuscript, more than 100 titles are available in English. She is the most translated woman writer in the entire history of literature, and the most translated American author of either gender. Her writings cover a broad range of subjects, including religion, education, social relationships, evangelism, prophecy, publishing, nutrition, and management. Her life-changing masterpiece on successful Christian living, Steps to Christ, has been published in more than 140 languages. Seventh-day Adventists believe that Mrs. White was more than a gifted writer; they believe she was appointed by God as a special messenger to draw the world's attention to the Holy Scriptures and help prepare people for Christ's second advent. From the time she was 17 years old until she died 70 years later, God gave her approximately 2,000 visions and dreams. The visions varied in length from less than a minute to nearly four hours. The knowledge and counsel received through these revelations she wrote out to be shared with others. Thus her special writings are accepted by Seventh-day Adventists as inspired, and their exceptional quality is recognized even by casual readers. As stated in Seventh-day Adventists Believe . . . , “The writings of Ellen White are not a substitute for Scripture. They cannot be placed on the same level. The Holy Scriptures stand alone, the unique standard by which her and all other writings must be judged and to which they must be subject” (Seventh-day Adventists Believe . . . , Ministerial Association, General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, Washington D.C., 1988, p. 227). Yet, as Ellen White herself noted, “The fact that God has revealed His will to men through His Word, has not rendered needless the continued presence and guiding of the Holy Spirit. On the contrary, the Spirit was promised by our Saviour to open the Word to His servants, to illuminate and apply its teachings” (The Great Controversy, p. vii). The following is a more detailed account of the life and work of this remarkable woman who, meeting all the tests of a true prophet as set forth in the Holy Scriptures, helped found the Seventh-day Adventist church.
organised by Charles Taze Russell - 1916: J F Rutherford takes over
Jehovah's Witnesses
1916: J F Rutherford takes over
After Russell's death in 1916 the movement was led by Joseph Franklin Rutherford (1869-1942).
Rutherford made big changes in the organisation's staff and certain changes to its doctrines. This led some followers to split from the movement and form their own groups.
1916: Witnesses persecuted for wartime pacifism
During the First World War, Witnesses in Britain, Canada and the USA suffered from government action against people who refused conscription into the military forces.
Rutherford and seven of his colleagues were sentenced to 20 years in prison for conspiring to promote draft evasion during a time of war.
The convictions were overturned a year later, but the experience hardened Rutherford's heart against public institutions and he referred to politics, commerce, and religion as "the three chief instruments of the Devil".
Rutherford thought deeply about a key passage in Romans 13, and concluded that the proper interpretation of the passage no longer required Witnesses to cooperate with secular law unless those laws were in accordance with God's laws.
The relationship between the Witnesses and the civil authorities deteriorated further as a result.
Mary Baker Eddy - Christian Science
Science and health with key to the scriptures
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By Mary Baker Eddy
Mary Baker Eddy, the youngest of the six children of Abigail and Mark Baker, was born in Bow, New Hampshire.[3][4]Congregationalist, she rejected teachings such as predestination and original sin. She suffered chronic illness and developed a strong interest in the biblical accounts of early Christian healing. Although she was raised a
Starting at the age of eight, Eddy began to hear voices calling her name and would go to her mother only to be told she had not been called. In her autobiography, Eddy relates one of these later experiences: READ MORE