Questions About Seventh-day Adventists

     Occasionally, people confuse us with other religious groups. Or they hear things about us that are inaccurate, Earlier in this booklet, we addressed two such misconceptions: that Adventists believe we alone will be saved and that we believe in salvation through our good works (legalism).
     Now we'd like to answer a few more questions people sometimes ask us.


     Q. Are you the church that does not believe in blood transfusions?
     A. No. you may be confusing us with the Jehovah's Witnesses.


     Q. Don't you have a lot of churches in Utah?
     A. We do have a number of churches in the state of Utah. But you may be confusing us with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons), headquartered in Salt Lake City. a possible source f the confusion may be that the Mormons abbreviate their church as the LDS church---and we often abbreviate ours as SDA church.


     Q. Aren't Seventh-day Adventists a cult?
     A. Most cults can be identified by their non biblical doctrines as well as by their use o psychological coercion in attempting to control the thinking and behavior of their adherents. Many cults also deny the deity of Jesus Christ.
     We Adventists base all of our doctrines firmly upon the Bible, and we believe fervently in the divinity of Jesus. we reject as incompatible with true Christianity any form of force or pressure in gaining or retaining converts.


     Q. Do Adventists speak in tongues?
     A. As noted in the section on what we believe, we most certainly believe in gifts of the Spirit, including the gift of tongues. However, we believe that when Paul discusses this gift in 1 Corinthians 14, his clear emphasis iis on the communication of an intelligible message. He speaks against the use of a meaningless gibberish. we believe that the gift of tongues at Pentecost gave the disciples a miraculous ability to speak languages they had never learned before so that they could witness to those from other countries who were visiting Jerusalem.


     Q. Do Adventists have women pastors?
     A. A few women currently serve as Adventist pastors, though the church has not yet ordained and women to the gospel ministry (at least not at the writing of this book. unsure about now). The possibility of ordaining women to the ministry is being carefully studied by the church.


     Q. Hasn't the Adventist Church a number of times set a date for the second coming of Christ?
     A. Though William Miller's movement (see the section on how Adventists began) did set a time for the return of Christ---and while it is true that some who joined Miller in looking for Christ to return in the year 1844 later helped establish the Seventh-day Adventist Church---the church itself has never set a date for the second coming. We hold to the Bible teaching that no one can know the exact date of Christ's return. (see Mark 13:32.)