The Context of Determining Our Position

Our forefathers had been in the great Advent awakening. (1) It was characterized by the clear evidence of the work of the Spirit of God.PBORWEW 2.2

(2) It was noted for its absence from fanaticism and excesses. (3) Many had experienced disfellowship from churches with rigid ideas when as far as they could see their only guilt was that they had accepted and were walking in the light of God’s holy Word. The creed of these churches made no allowance for growth in an understanding of Bible truth.PBORWEW 2.3

(4) Soon after the disappointment of 1844 they discovered that in the matter of the Sunday day of rest there was only tradition for its support. The Bible clearly designated the seventh day. They saw almost all Christians observing Sunday and faced great opposition to the clear Bible truth of the sacredness of the true Bible sabbath.PBORWEW 2.4

This was enough to lead them to take the position of the Bible and the Bible only as their rule—not tradition. But there were other factors.PBORWEW 2.5

There was a contemporary religious group who assumed the name of “latter day saints,” who took the position that the Bible should be accepted “as far as it was translated correctly.” They placed great confidence in the Book of Mormon which was taken to supersede the Bible.PBORWEW 2.6

What’s more, their self-appointed “prophet”, Joseph Smith, had made a translation of the Bible, not working from the manuscript sources, but from what he claimed were revelations from God.PBORWEW 2.7

Then in the spring of 1844—note the date—Joseph Smith had been murdered while waiting trial for his acts which stemmed partly from financial mismanagement, but more from his teaching that a man might have more than one wife—all on the basis of what he claimed God had shown him in vision.PBORWEW 3.1

This was not a propitious time for anyone to claim to have visions from God.PBORWEW 3.2