The Pioneers were anti-Trinitarian
The Seventh-day Adventist pioneers considered the trinity doctrine to be a fundamental error.
"As fundamental errors, we might class with this counterfeit sabbath
other errors which Protestants have brought away from the Catholic
church, such as sprinkling for baptism, the trinity,
the consciousness of the dead and eternal life in misery. The mass
who have held these fundamental errors, have doubtless done it ignorantly;
but can it be supposed that the church of Christ will carry along
with her these errors till the judgment scenes burst upon the world?
We think not." —James White, Review and Herald, September 12, 1854, Vol. 6, No. 5, page 36.7
The greatest fault we can find in the Reformation is, the Reformers
stopped reforming. Had they gone on, and onward, till they had left
the last vestige of Papacy behind, such as natural immortality, sprinkling,
the trinity, and Sunday-keeping, the church would now
be free from her unscriptural errors. --James White, February 7, 1856,
Review & Herald, vol. 7, no. 19, page 148, par. 26
What the pioneers believed on the subject of the Trinity
"Seventh-day Adventists claim to take the word of God as supreme authority
and to have “come out of Babylon”, to have renounced forever
the vain traditions of Rome. If we should go back to the immortality
of the soul, purgatory, eternal torment and the Sunday Sabbath, would
that be anything less than apostasy? If, however, we leap over all
these minor, secondary doctrines and accept and teach the very central
root, doctrine of Romanism, the Trinity, and teach that the son of God
did not die, even though our words seem to be spiritual, is this anything
else or anything less than apostasy, and the very Omega of apostasy?"
—Letter by J. S. Washburn in 1940 which includes a copy of his 1939 "The Trinity" document to Elder W. W. Prescott. [Elder J. S. Washburn was a personal
friend of Ellen G. White. Elder Washburn was present at the 1888 Minneapolis
General Conference Session.]
Miscellaneous
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