Fundamental Beliefs

Early Seventh-day Adventists never intended to craft a formal statement of fundamental beliefs. But through the years, more and more people were asking about the church’s beliefs, and false assertions were distorting the integrity of the Adventist message. So, in 1872, Uriah Smith wrote A Declaration of the Fundamental Principles Taught and Practiced by the Seventh-day Adventists, with twenty-five statements.

In 1889, those principles were slightly revised and expanded into twenty-eight propositions. A new statement of twenty-two “fundamental beliefs” appeared in the 1931 Year Book of the Seventh-day Adventist Denomination.

And on April 25, 1980, the General Conference Session in Dallas, Texas, voted the first official statement of twenty-seven fundamental beliefs.

The nature of the new document was explained in its introductory paragraph: “Seventh-day Adventists accept the Bible as their only creed and hold certain fundamental beliefs to be the teaching of the Holy Scriptures. These beliefs, as set forth here, constitute the church’s understanding and expression of the teaching of Scripture. Revision of these statements may be expected at a General Conference Session when the church is led by the Holy Spirit to a fuller understanding of Bible truth or finds better language in which to express the teachings of God’s Holy Word.” Crucial in this statement is the distinction between the Bible as the only unchangeable creed and the fundamental beliefs that can be revised. As examples of this type of revision, in response to animistic concerns and evil powers, the 2005 General Conference Session in Saint Louis, Missouri, added a new statement (number 11) on “Growing in Christ.” Ten years later, the 2015 General Conference Session in San Antonio, Texas, revised the wording of several of the fundamental beliefs to make them clearer and more comprehensible.

While never intended to replace the Bible as our only creed, the 28 Fundamental Beliefs published in the Seventh-day Adventist Church Manual can help us concisely explain the basic Bible teachings of the church and the reason for our hope (1 Peter 3:15). You should know them well and be ready to share them with others.