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(N) Matthew 7:24 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: ps. Liking the new format…. Easier to navigate.

(N) Acts 13:39 And by him [Jesus] all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.

(N) Acts 13:38 🥰 Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins:

Gustave, this wasn't a topic that interested me in previous times; however, I have become interested. I've also figured out how to use the filters at the EGW writings website. Those are very helpful in eliminating duplicate statements. Instead of ~200 or more statements, there are only ~50 on the "personality of God." I've not found any statements I would consider anti-trinity. Definitely many which place the personality of God issue in the context of Kellogg's pantheism. The word "personality" would better be understood as "personhood." She refers to Christ and the Father as distinct personalities. It appears that she means distinct persons. I didn't notice the mention of the Holy Spirit in any statement referring to the personalities/personhood of God and Christ. I did notice the following: "This Scripture is applicable to all who regard God as He is represented in Living Temple. Those who continue to accept the sophistry in this book will be led on and on in delusion, just as were many to whom I was commissioned to bear a testimony after the passing of the time in 1844." 18 ltrms, ms 137 par. 23, 1903 "Just such theories as you have presented in Living Temple were presented then. These subtle, deceiving sophistries have again and again sought to find place amongst us. But I have ever had the same testimony to bear which I now bear regarding the personality of God." 18 ltrms ltr 253,1903 Apparently this was an issue around 1844, which was news to me. So you have quoted from James White, U. Smith, Dudley Canright [my uncle by marriage 4 generations back] and Stephen Haskell but not EGW. These are mere men, with no authority. You have yet to reveal a clear statement from EGW contra the trinity. Haskell was 10 years old in 1844. His article from October of 1903 carries no special authority, just his opinion. The issue of the trinity is, more or less meaningless, to some people. SDA are not Roman Catholics. The denomination is much closer to JWs in many respects than it is to RC. I don't understand the nature of the Godhead. Nobody does, this side of heaven. EGW herself was careful about her remarks on the subject. She definitely took issue with Kellogg around 1900 and apparently others in earlier days. That issue was clearly related to pantheism. If EGW was an Arian along with other pioneers, no matter to me. What I know is that, whatever the relationship between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, it is such that I can live forever because Jesus died on the cross for my sins

I think people should built cubicles in the toilet and there won't be any problems

Well the "Word" is Jesus/Son of God, God the Son!! God the Son and God the Father, did not have the Angels help in creation!!

The following article discussed important issues of both forgiveness and of trust. https://atoday.org/is-a-repentant-abuser-to-be-trusted/

(N) Matthew 5:19 Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

"My conclusion after studying Dr. Dudley’s book was that, while he was not attempting to argue something he knew to be untrue, he is simply not familiar with genealogical evidence and the sources needed to properly analyze and construct genealogical links. Nothing in his book even suggests that the Gould ancestry of Ellen Gould (Harmon) White was in any way connected with the Gould family of Gouldtown, New Jersey, or that any part of Ellen’s Gould ancestral line traced to persons of color, at least not in this country." EllenWhite.Org Website - Advanced Search - White Estate Archives

Mrs. White tried to teach us how she wanted to be used. Due to Fundamentalism too often we try to squeeze her into the Fundamentalist framework. I find it ironic on how Stephen Haskell took pretty much every word of hers to be directly from God. Yet, he kept wanting to teach her how her visions work, and refused her disagreement on the topic. Haskell's view has basically won out in the church, which probably can be summarized as "Mrs. White was not infallible, it's just that she never made a mistake."

I would personally like to see that statement, where she actually says something to the "origin of Blacks?" I personally can't believe that CEB would've believed she meant that!!!!! I just went and read these 2 pages and I don't see that at all!!!!! Again I don't see where anyone gets that, unless it's a white that came up with that and why would anyone believe that????? I can understand some scientists believed that and probably all white guys?? Sorry but I don't see that!! But I do agree that she was, as are all of us, a fallible human being!! Again is this just another person wanting to cast doubt on her?? I don't know!!

In the following issue, whose religious rights should be protected? In cases such as this one, there may not be an easy answer. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/a-pharmacist-who-refused-to-fill-a-woman-s-emergency-contraceptive-prescription-did-not-violate-her-rights-minnesota-jury-rules/ar-AA10nkSi?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=U531&cvid=f85cd53f6bdd4352bc20d19a0b0c6399

(N) Proverbs 8:19 My [the Lord’s] fruit is better than gold, yea, than fine gold; and my revenue than choice silver. 🏆

The ancient Persians often debated important ideas, both sober and drunk. They believed an idea had to sound good in both states to be acceptable. Maybe Congress should do that? On second thought, NO!!!! James

The following article reports on a current issue that the Mormon Church is facing related to reporting instances of the sexual abuse of children. Among the reasons that this article is of interest to me are the following two: In my prior life, I taught Army chaplains when they had a legal obligation to report such and when they had an obligation to not report it. While living in Colorado, local clergy were convicted of violating a Colorado law on the requirement to report such. NOTE: If this subject interests you, other articles on this issue with the Mormon Chruch are available on the Internet. https://www.usnews.com/news/politics/articles/2022-08-04/sex-abuse-and-the-mormon-church-help-line-4-takeaways

(N) Proverbs 8:18 Riches and honour are with me [the Lord]; yea, durable riches and righteousness.

(N) Deuteronomy 30:15 See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil;

Ellen White also did a great piece on Christian Nationalism 🙂

The team rowed over 2,400 nautical miles in the historic feat. https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Living/female-team-breaks-world-record-rowing-california-hawaii/story?

(N). Psalm 55:16 🗣 As for me, I will call upon God; and the Lord shall save me.

The 'paper' used to make money in the United States isn't really paper. It's 75% cotton and 25% linen; this is why money doesn't disintegrate in the washing machine. James

Lessons from the fire: The origin of the fire occurred when a guest of wind opened the top of a garbage container. Glass bottles then magnified the rays of the sun and caused paper products to begin to burn. That fire was then transmitted to nearby brush and trees, which resulted in a fire that burned some 450 to 500 acres and destroyed five homes. See: https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/chief-bottle-magnified-sunlight-ignited-possum-kingdom-fire-87591572

This is not a topic I follow. If people like having a female pastor, I won't interfere. Some people don't like having a female pastor. A YouTube interview with a new female pastor indicated that half the congregation left when she was foisted upon the congregation. She cried as she related this. The video was taken down not long after it was uploaded. Based on a single congregation I attended, I would say that at least 2 of the female leaders were ignorant, abusive, and money oriented. Individuals were browbeaten from the pulpit for asking questions about passages being studied. A new Christian was lectured on tithe paying the first time she attended the Sabbath meeting. I was "blown off" for offering reading material to one of the lady "pastors." "Just sing songs" she said. One female "elder" leads her younger husband around like a little puppy. He is at her beck and call, more like a servant than the head of a household. The relationship appears degrading to men in general, not just church officers Probably most congregations are not like this. I've heard some wonderful stories about personal evangelism conducted by women. What I'd like to see is an accounting of how women in ministry are doing as soulwinners for Christ. Are women effective soulwinners, evangelists, preachers? Do they grow congregations by bringing in new people or from membership transfers? One of the greatest Bible students I ever met was a woman. The old style Bible workers were mostly women, more effective at soulwinning than the male pastors. Their respective responsibilities made it so. People have different gifts and abilities. If women are going to be pastors, its fair to expect them to exhibit pastoral gifts beyond an M.Div. and a pleasant personality.

With thanks to Bottom Line Personal, August 1, 2022, if you own either a Tesla Model 3 or Model Y, it probably can be stolen in seconds by a thief with a laptop who knows what to do. To protect yourself, disable the vehicle’s proximity-based unlocking functionality.

(N) Psalm 112:3 Wealth and riches shall be in his house: and his righteousness endureth for ever. 🏆

(N). 1 Peter 4:14 If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye ; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified. 👑

The following is an interesting religious liberty case: https://spectrummagazine.org/news/2022/city-sued-doj-discriminating-against-adventist-church-member

(N) Proverbs 8:21 That I may cause those that love me to inherit substance; and I will fill their treasures.💝

EUROPE Ukraine's President Fires Security Chief, Prosecutor General Reuters ian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy issued executive orders late on Sunday sacking the head of Ukraine's powerful domestic security agency, the SBU, and the prosecutor general. The orders dismissing SBU chief Ivan Bakanov, a childhood friend of Zelenskyy, and Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova, who led the effort to prosecute Russian war crimes in Ukraine, were published on the president's official website. In a separate Telegram post, Zelenskyy said he had fired the top officials because many cases had come to light of members of their agencies collaborating with Russia. He said 651 treason and collaboration cases had been opened against prosecutorial and law enforcement officials, and that more than 60 officials from Bakanov and Venediktova's agencies were now working against Ukraine in Russian-occupied territories. "Such an array of crimes against the foundations of the national security of the state ... pose very serious questions to the relevant leaders," Zelenskyy said. "Each of these questions will receive a proper answer," he said. Zelenskyy appointed Oleksiy Symonenko as the new prosecutor general in a separate executive order that was also published on the president's site. ukraine president fires generals - Search (bing.com)

(N) Hosea 2:23 …..and I will say to them which were not my people, Thou art my people; and they shall say, Thou art my God. 🥰

Gustave, I'm still not seeing any statements against the trinity from EGW. She endorsed a lot of things, e.g., the Augsburg Confession, Luther's justification theology, the teachings of Jones and Waggoner. She didn't believe everything any of them taught, not at all. For you to reason that because EGW endorsed Smith's work on D and R, she endorsed his anti trinity statements demonstrates a very narrow view of her work on your part. She vilified his understanding of the place of the law in salvation, said he didn't know what he was talking about. She said different things about different people at different times under different circumstances. EGW played at politics at certain times in the interests of preserving the unity of the church. She was aware of a leading minister's adulterous affair but recommended he not be driven out of the ministry because it would have been morale busting for the church at large. For her to make a raid on Smith, her husband, other leading ministers over the trinity, simply might have been too devastating to the denomination as a whole I've asked for a very simple thing, i.e.., a statement/s that EGW herself wrote against the trinity. I haven't seen one yet. You are the anti-trinity scholar. If such statements exist, you must have seen them. If they don't, you really need to stop your anti-EGW campaign. What I'm hearing certainly sounds like ax grinding.

Book came today, been looking through different parts and it appears to be fantastic!!! One thing that surprised me was that it only had one reference to Lynn H. Wood and only referenced that when he was president of Southern, his Religion department was so conservative that people he invited to join the department were afraid to accept his invitation. Lynn Wood played a big role in progressive Adventism. He had a different view of hell fire than the traditional shortened version of the Catholic/Baptist hell. He was Paul Heubeck's and Felix Lorenz's major professor at the seminary. He gave a week of prayer at PUC when Jack Provonsha and Graham Maxwell were students. While Provonsha and Maxwell of course knew each other, they were not really close friends while in college. Yet, both of them stated that Wood's week of prayer was the most amazing week of prayer that they ever attended. They were also surprised that he treated all the students and listened to their as collages and not that he was the teacher and they merely learning. While I don't know about Elder Person personally, I know that some of those who he hired to "fix" the church described their goal as to destroy Lynn Wood's influence in the church. After PUC Provonsha and Maxwell went their separate ways. Independent of each other they came to similar understandings of hell fire, and later learned that it was similar to Lynn Wood's views on hell. Neither remember Wood presenting his understanding of hell during that week of prayer, but were open to the idea that they may not have noticed it. Thus I expected to see more information on Lynn Wood in the book, especially in a larger context than the fact that his theology/religion department was so conservative that professors he invited to join the team were too afraid to join. Finding only this reference to Lynn Wood is comparable to if you were to read a book on magic and magicians and the only reference to Harry Houdini is that he once played the wild-man from Borneo in a circus. Also, I was surprised that there was nothing about the AUC theology/religion department in the 1970s and early 1980s. Except for these two points, I am in awe of this book.

(N) Blessed are those that wait. Isaiah 30:18 And therefore will the Lord wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you: for the Lord is a God of judgment: blessed are all they that wait for him.

That's absolutely false, Gustave. Kellogg's issue was pantheism. If you read the first chapter of Living Temple, it is very obvious what is intended by the term pantheism. It's God being manifested throughout nature, which is what Kellogg was saying in Living Temple. Probably the entire issue can be understood with a simple quote: Living Temple, page 28 God in nature, not outside of it. When you refer to the Sabbath Herald, do you mean the Advent Review and Sabbath Herald?

The following link takes you to a thoughtful reflection on a recent Supreme Court decision. It is well worth consideration. https://atoday.org/praying-at-the-50-yard-line/ The following is just one of the issues that this decision raises: [How would they feel about Muslim teachers leading prayer to Allah in the classroom or at school-sponsored events? Or Hindu prayer? Or a Wiccan teacher leading prayer, or new age prayer with crystals and tarot readings? How about atheist/agnostic students who would be marginalized and singled out by such majority practice in the classroom? [/quote]

Thought for today; A couple living in San Francisco was fined $1,500 for parking their car in their own driveway. The fine was retracted when they submitted proof that in 1938 a horse and buggy had parked in that driveway. https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/realestate/san-francisco-couple-allowed-to-use-driveway-after-being-fined-1-500/ar-AAZv4gB?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=U531&cvid=4846f5ad7b634e63a30c7fb456f29d6e

For a heart-=warming 3+ minute video of a wild-animal rescue, see:

So what she wrote was misunderstood by others. Not unusual in her day or even now. "As I've already demonstrated here in the forum Ellen White believed that God (the Father only) had a body of FLESH, complete with all the organs, members and parts of a perfect man. This "pillar doctrine" was called "THE PERSONALITY OF GOD". This is what interests me, that EGW or early SDA believed that the Father had a body of flesh, complete with organs. I was unaware of the statement that included the personality of God with the pillars or landmarks. The statement you quoted was written in 1903, most likely referencing Kellogg's book, "Living Temple." The issue with "Living Temple" was pantheism. We are discussing 2 separate issues here, amalgamation and the personality of God. The amalgamation statements are a non issue for me. What others believed she said or meant only indicates that her editors might have done a better job. I'd have to read "Living Temple" get up to speed on the personality of God issue; however, the issue with that book was pantheism, not whether God had a human body. That's what interested me, EGW statements affirming that the Father had a human body of flesh with organs, etc.

(N) Galatians 5:24 And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.

For those of you who would like to participate in an 11-minute guided mediation on Psalm 1, click on the following link. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmNpzbfBnV8

FOCUS ON GOD "Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.”--Proverbs 3:5-6 (NKJV) "You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You.”--Isaiah 26:3 (NKJV) In our prayers for ourselves and others our focus is to be on knowing God, experiencing His reality, rather than on problems, diseases, or something else in the realm of the material. In the presence of God human all needs are met and we are fulfilled at the deepest level. Our own understanding of our greatest need is often obscured by our immediate needs but in communion with God we begin to see His understanding of us and our situation. When we depend on human understanding we are limiting in our experience what God ALONE can do. “Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord” is indeed to be our watchword (Exodus 14:13). I invite you to join or follow this Facebook group SPIRITUAL JOURNEY ENCOURAGEMENT. The purpose of this group is to uplift and encourage everyone to draw closer to God and to love others more.You’ll see most of my recent posts there: https://www.facebook.com/groups/265097276928878

(N) above and not beneath Deuteronomy 28:13 And the Lord shall make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if that thou hearken unto the commandments of the Lord thy God, which I command thee this day, to observe and to do them :

Some may ask how the James Webb telescope is better than the Hubble telescope. To respond one must use the terminology that is commonly used for dating the cosmos. * The Hubble telescope was limited to only use the optical wavelengths, while the James Webb is also able to also use the infrared wavelengths in addition to the optical wavelengths. * The Hubble telescope is able to see back in time to a point about 13.4 billion years ago, which is believed to be after the start of the formation of the Universe. * The James Webb telescope is able to see back in time to a point about 13.8 billion years ago, which is believed to be the origin of the formation of the universe, which is believed to have occurred about 200 million years after Planck Density which is the point at which things started. * This is considered to be a phenomenal increase in ability to observe the formation of the universe. * It should be noted that science tells us that in human terms there is a limit to what we can ever observe about the universe. This limit is called the Cosmological Horizon. On the human scale we will never be able to observe beyond that limit which is believed to have a radius of 45 billion light years. Mathematical equations may propose what exists beyond that point. but, in human terms no observation beyond that point will ever occur. * The significance to me is that this reminds us of our human limits and it tells me that we cannot even begin to understand God and what we may be able to learn in that eternity that God has in store for us.

(N) Given treasure 🎁 Deuteronomy 28:12 The Lord shall open unto thee his good treasure, the heaven to give the rain unto thy land in his season, and to bless all the work of thine hand: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, and thou shalt not borrow.

(N) No lack 🦁 Psalm 34:10 The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing.

"I just read the Amalgamation answer at the EGW Writings link and noticed the following things." What the Naturalists believed may be interesting to you but that's what they believed, not what EGW believed or stated. She may well have been misunderstood by U. Smith and others. Again, not her problem although her editors could have prevented the confusion by inserting the word "of" as in the "amalgamation of man and of beast." The way it appears it does look like she was saying that men and beasts joined together through amalgamation. The larger context of what she wrote does indicate that the amalgamation she spoke of referred to the intermarriage of the children of Cain and the children of Seth. The following explanation is the most plausible: "We believe that the meaning of the key phrase in question is found by understanding it to read: “amalgamation of man and [of] beast.” Thus the passage would be speaking of the amalgamation of different races of mankind and the amalgamation of different races of animals. The grammatical construction and common usage permit us to understand “of” as being implied." All the illustrations you provide from Naturalist partisans are irrelevant to EGW. Good reason to believe that she meant that animals amalgamated with each other and humans amalgamated with each other. The anti-EGW crowd prefers to misinterpret her.

Dick, if you want an in-depth perspective on how divisive the issues of the role of Ellen White in Adventism was during the 60s and 70s, and are willing to read a 456 page book read: Valentine, Gilbert M., Ostriches & Canaries: Coping With Change in Adventism, 1966 to 1979. If you want a much shorter treatment, and from a slightly different focus see: Campbell, Michael W., 1919, The Untold story of Adventism's Struggle With Fundamentalism, 124 pages. Campbell, Michael w., 1922, The Rise of Adventist Fundamentalism, 144 pages. NOTE: All three books may be purchased from Amazon.

Referencing circumstances prior to the flood. Nobody knows what went on in those days.