In a just-published Spectrum article, Trevor Lloyd reports on a recent Australia (Sydney) Adventist Forum meeting featuring Graeme Bradford and Arthur Patrick on the mounting challenges to Ellen White’s prophetic authority.  Bradford has authored several books on Ellen White, most notably, More Than a Prophet.

At the meeting, Bradford recounted a conversation with a former Adventist pastor who said that the current situation is “a battle for the very soul of Adventism”, particularly since “there are still folk in North America who would fight to the death to defend an infallible Ellen White”.  In response, Bradford warned, “if we don’t tell our people the truth about how Ellen White performed her ministry then our opponents will do so–and in a negative and destructive way–and this is already happening.”

Further, Lloyd reports about Arthur Patrick’s attendance at the long-forgotten 1982 Prophetic Guidance Workshop.  Following the meeting, Patrick returned to Australia, where “one of his superiors in church administration instructed him to keep for his own records reports he had written of the workshop and not to share either the 941 pages of documents given to attendees or the sound recordings of workshop discussions.”

Given the suppressed 1919 Bible Conference transcripts and the now-confirmed suppressed findings of the 1982 Prophetic Guidance Workshop, Lloyd rightly concludes, “[The Adventist church] can either accept, examine, and interpret the evidence that has come to light, or it can revert to its former blinkered stance.”

Greg,

Thanks for posting this article. I briefly had time to review the Spectrum article, but I want to comment more later when I get time.

Stan

All I can say is that a HUGE burden rests on Arthur Patrick to come clean about information that he has, as this statement seems to imply:

“Further, Lloyd reports about Arthur Patrick’s attendance at the long-forgotten 1982 Prophetic Guidance Workshop. Following the meeting, Patrick returned to Australia, where “one of his superiors in church administration instructed him to keep for his own records reports he had written of the workshop and not to share either the 941 pages of documents given to attendees or the sound recordings of workshop discussions.”
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This smacks of a Watergate style cover-up if I have ever seen one. Patrick has been sitting on this info now for 25 years. The SDA church covered up and hid the minutes of the 1919 Bible conference for years before these minutes were discovered in the 1970’s.

For a church that claims to have THE TRUTH, then why the secrecy?

I have to say that people like Patrick seem to be enablers in this situation. Even though they act like mavericks, they are really aggravating the problem. My prayer is that these men like Patrick and Bradford come totally clean, and tell us what they really know.

Stan

I think the reasoning behind their reluctance to go full bore into this is simply because they can reach more people by not rocking the boat as much. I know this seems hypocritical but look at Des Ford. The only people that really put much stock in his words are the real free thinkers in Adventism (those who most likely have issues already) and those transitioning out of it.

This was due to the black listing and automatic dismissal. ‘Out of sight, out of mind’ to the faithful. However, by being still ‘in the church’ there is a legitimacy that people will still respect and listen to. By being branded as an ‘apostate heretic’ and being excommunicated or having credentials removed, significantly diminishes the impact that these gentlemen will have on future thinkers in the Adventist Church.

One small step at a time is the best and most efficient way to do it in the SDA church.

John 3:16
In my opinion everything should be out in the open and give the members of the SDA church a chance to evaluate for themselves what has happened in the past and how it has affected the church doctrine.
It has been my experience that secrets in a family make a sick family.  Letting one secret out at a time just does not do it.  I know.  I come from a very dysfunctional family.  Am I saying the SDA church is dysfunctional.  Yes, because of all the things that have been kept secret.
So, let the members know all the secrets and let them evaluate for themselves what to do about it. 
This does not mean that the members are dysfunctional.  It is the group that runs the church as they are the ones who have kept the secrets.  This is just my opinion and thoughts.
Diana