28 Fundamental Beliefs Get an Update

The Annual Council approves revisions after two days of talks and sends the document to the General Conference session.

Story by Andrew McChesney, News editor, Adventist Review

Seventh-day Adventist leaders tentatively approved proposed revisions of the church’s core statements of its fundamental beliefs after two days of discussions that Artur A. Stele, chair of the revision committee, said had helped create a better product

The delegates at the Annual Council, a major church business meeting, easily endorsed the last of the proposed revisions to the 28 Fundamental Beliefs in a 202-2 vote, with three abstentions, late Monday afternoon. They agreed to forward the document to the General Conference session for a final discussion and vote by the world church next July.

None of the revisions change any of the fundamental beliefs, and many simply update and tighten the text, Ted N.C. Wilson, president of the Adventist world church, assured delegates when the talks started on Sunday afternoon.

"I don't want anyone here in the room to think we are changing our beliefs," he said. “We are simply adjusting wording to make it clearer and more helpful.”

The 2014 Annual Council had scheduled a discussion and vote for Sunday afternoon, but more than 20 comments from delegates sent the revision committee back to work. The discussion reconvened Monday morning and all but one proposed revision was approved by a 179-15 vote, with five abstentions, before noon.

“I believe that the process was very helpful,” Stele, director of the church’s Biblical Research Committee, said in an interview. “Quite a number of suggestions were made after we presented the draft on Sunday, and we worked on it on Sunday night and Monday. As a result I think that the product is better than it was Sunday.”

Read 28 Fundamental Beliefs Get an Update in its entirety.