The Sabbath? I never questioned the Sabbath. As a third generation SDA on my father’s side, I had been raised keeping the Sabbath all of my childhood. If there was anything to question about it, certainly it would have come up before now? The church had ministers and scholars to figure out truth.
I had even had my own miracle showing me the importance of keeping the Sabbath.
I worked for over seventeen years as a correctional officer at Folsom Prison and the few jobs with any part of the weekend off were coveted and few. I justified working the weekends by responding with “what were the options?” You can’t just shut down a prison and walk away because it was the Sabbath or the weekend any more then you would just shut down a hospital or any other ‘care’ facility.
After working in an extremely busy office setting for several years, and also enjoying Sundays and Mondays off, I ran into two other officers that were both Seventh-day Adventists. Neither had any idea that I was also one because I was busy working on what I then thought was the Sabbath, Saturday. It really convicted me that I was wrong in not putting the importance of the Sabbath first.
I knew that getting my days off changed was next to impossible and I really enjoyed my job. But was that job more important to me than my obedience to my Heavenly Father?
I prayed that I could and would let the job go and be able give my problem to my Saviour. I prayed that I would be content with whatever job He gave me – no matter how bad it might seem! That was a very difficult decision and submission. If keeping the Sabbath was important for me to observe, then He would have to provide the change.
Sept. 11, 2001, was on a Tuesday and as I was just getting back from my days off, I looked at the weekly movement sheet to check on all of the job changes and saw my miracle! As everyone was dragging in TV’s to watch the Twin towers in New York coming down, I was jumping up and down inside because my boss had gotten his days off changed from Friday/Saturday to Sunday/Monday – the same as mine had been! One of us had to be in the office at all times due to the stress and busy atmosphere. There was no way we both could be off on the same days, so within minutes I had my days off changed to Friday/Saturday!
It may not sound like much, but to get your days off changed normally, you had to write a memo explaining the problem and justifying the change, work out everyone’s schedule that might be affected by the changed days to accommodate the change, etc., and it went all the way to the warden for approval!
So yes, I knew very well how important the Sabbath was to me personally and to my Heavenly Father!
The funny thing is I never remember asking if ‘Saturday’ was important, only the Sabbath. Looking back I think that was a profound difference.
Several years later, after having an accident at home which freed me from working at the prison, a friend called me after having attended a wedding.
| I was angry. I felt lied to. Surely our ministers who were much better educated than I would have seen this truth and told us . . . wouldn’t they? It took time for me to realize that the ministers have a vested interest in this being wrong. Education is not a requirement for recognizing this truth. A willingness to obey truth is the only requirement. |
She was so excited about her new discovery that she just had to tell someone!
Even though the couple getting married and their families were Seventh-day Adventists, the wedding had been performed as a Jewish ceremony. When my friend afterward questioned why, it was brought out that they had learned about the Biblical lunar/solar calendar and thus when the true Sabbath really was. The true Sabbath? Weren’t WE keeping the true Sabbath? Hadn’t we all of our lives? Weren’t we, the Seventh-day Adventists, the ones with the message of the ‘true’ Sabbath to share with the world? Wouldn’t we know when it really was? All of these things went round and round in my head, but I let her talk and listened. The more she said, the more sense it made, and I felt very angry.
Had we been lied to? Wouldn’t someone – much more educated then I – have figured this out years ago? And yet, even while I was talking on the phone with my friend, I remember walking outside and looking up at the moon and realizing that there was more to the Sabbath then we had realized. We had a direct sign from our Wonderful Father in heaven to tell us when to come together to worship Him! How much more meaningful this was then just setting aside a day out of the week to get together at church to socialize!
I had to know more.
Even though I continued to attend church on Saturdays, I called my friend everyday and asked what she had learned! I wanted to know everything! I started keeping the Sabbath by the luni-solar calendar and continued go to church on Saturdays, too.
Excitedly, I shared my good news with my family. They were definitely not so excited. Only my sister would listen. My brothers would get angry. Even over the phone I could tell they were angry. They quit calling as much. But my sister would listen and ask questions and actually read articles I sent her. Even though she still hasn’t actually made a decision, she has armed herself with all the evidence and has had some intense conversations with her grown children and families. I pray that she will soon see the importance of stepping out of the mold we have created for ourselves.
My husband patiently listened too, along with my boys, but none would agree to keep the lunar Sabbath with me.
My friend had given me some copies of DVDs of several people who had presented the pros and cons of the lunar-solar calendar before an audience and I watched them all intently. One of them was eLaine Vornholt and my friend and I were so impressed that she called and talked to her about it. We got their book, The Great Calendar Controversy and read through it intently.
The proof was all there. Our beloved Seventh-day Adventist Church HAD known. Why had they not shared it with the ‘commoners’? Because they were afraid it would cause confusion? Since when were we afraid of conflict? Weren’t we praising the individual who had lost their job due to not wanting to work on the “Saturday” Sabbath?
So what were we afraid of? Truth? Since when?
I became more and more agitated and hungry for more understanding.
I continued to attend church regularly, only now with a different purpose. There had to be others like me who in ignorance had just assumed we had it all figured out! We had had a profitable small discussion group that met for Sabbath School, and we had had some excellent discussions in the past. Now I found I could hardly sit through them. How could we be here discussing trivial, everyday things when there were monumental issues that would be affecting our eternal salvation! I had learned about the coming calendar change proposed for the end of 2011 when each one of us must make life-changing decisions!
It was all I could do to sit still with my mouth shut. Why wasn’t I getting the blessings that I used to get from these discussions? But I continued to sit through them for about another six months.
Finally, I had felt my patience coming to an end. As I sat in Sabbath School class, I remember thinking, if I open my mouth, would words just start pouring out? I felt as though I would just burst! Every week, I came armed with the Vornholt’s book and other books that I could pull out and point to references that I felt validated the issue of the lunar Sabbath. One book was The Desire of Ages with the chapter titled “Gethsemane” and the reference to the Pascal full moon at the time of the Passover and Crucifixion. The other was Patriarchs and Prophets in the chapter titled the “Feast Days” and again, there was another reference to the Pascal full moon in reference to the Passover.
Another book that I carried around was Selected Messages. We had discovered William Miller’s Dream and had come to the conclusion that it was referring to now! To us! His date of October 22, 1844 was intimately tied to the ancient Biblical calendar kept by the Hebrews – the luni-solar calendar! This also tied together the Feast Days and the Sabbath. The troops of people, as described in his dream, that had carelessly handled the precious jewels in William Miller’s chest, dropping them on the floor and getting them dirty, replacing fakes for the genuine, were the church leaders and members up until now who had disregarded the truths that had been discovered in his time.
And when ‘the man,’ who was Yahushua himself, came in to straighten everything and bring everything back into order – better and more brighter then it had ever been previously – this was exactly what was happening now! The truths were glowing bigger and brighter than ever! And we were being trusted with this incredible information!
As it happened, the Sabbath School class that I regularly attended had several prominent doctors attending along with a retired conference president. As we exited the class on one particular week, I blurted out to one of the doctors and the conference president as they exited, asking if they had heard anything about an upcoming calendar change? Both responded that they had not, so I proceeded to show them the proposed ‘world calendar’ and explained how it would affect us all.
I then pulled out the Vornholt’s book and explained how because of this upcoming issue with the calendar, many had begun to study in more depth the calendar that we were currently on and how it was not the Biblical calendar nor the one that William Miller had used to determine the date that had remained a cornerstone and fundamental to our beliefs as Seventh-day Adventists. They both seemed interested, but after a bit, the doctor walked off, while the conference president continued to ask where I had learned this and how could Ellen G. White be wrong? How could I go against her?
I stated that when she was shown truth, she wrote it and it was correct. When she had mentioned Saturdays, she was going with what she knew. Yahuwah’s timing is not our timing and who was I to question why he had chosen not to reveal that to her? The issue of the Sabbath and its importance was still there, just not how we had always taken the calendar for granted.
As we walked towards the main sanctuary, he became more and more agitated until finally, as we stood outside of the church, I turned to look at him and his face was bright red. I realized that it was all he could do to maintain his composure! I was a bit surprised and prayed a silent prayer as this was not what I expected. Now what do I do? Please, I prayed, put words in my mouth.
As I prayed, I could feel a presence next to me. I knew there was no one standing there, but I felt an arm around my shoulders and I relaxed. Though I didn’t hear an audible voice, I had an instant realization that everything was going to be alright. I had a realization that it was going to be very difficult for the older generation of the church, and especially for those who had dedicated their entire lives to preaching the Saturday ‘Sabbath,’ to ever accept the truth about the Biblical calendar.
Even though I felt really sad about the reaction of a person that I had had a lot of respect for and had enjoyed many conversations with, I now knew with a confidence that we were on the right track! And we were not left to do this task of sharing alone!
I began to feel sorry for him and went away knowing that it was true, few would listen. I felt even more sorrow in realizing how desperate I was to get anyone’s attention – and how must Our Father in Heaven feel? How He must want this truth out there so that we can receive His true blessing that He longs to give us on His true Sabbath! How much more we need it now than ever in history! Time is so short!
Meanwhile, I was having a difficult time keeping both days off and working that into my work schedule. I was now working in the sale of real estate and had much more flexibility in my schedule, but I could see things closing in to where I had to make a decision on which day I would keep and not which day(s) I would keep!
My boss made up the schedule each month and I was trying to figure out a way to approach the subject. I was already being ‘catered to’ by having part of the weekend off every week and I was hesitant to start working on Saturdays since they knew I was still attending church with my husband and boys.
Finally, I knew I had to make a decision which of the two ‘masters’ I was going to serve: Pope Gregory or the Bible.
I needed to be an example to my boys that even though you may stand alone, standing for truth is much more important than the fact of being alone. Someday they will have to make those unpopular decisions and I want to be an example of strength proving that they CAN do it.
I picked a day that it was just the two of us, my boss and I together, and reminded her of all the times she had commented irritatedly about how I always had Saturdays off and she almost never did. I asked her what would she think if I were able to work some of those Saturdays and she wouldn’t have to work all of them. It really took her by surprise so I continued on to explain about the Sabbath and how important it was to me, and to Yahuwah. Learning more truth, I had discovered that I had been keeping the wrong day.
Though she took it better then I had anticipated, she put in plenty of sarcastic comments about how long was I planning on keeping ‘this’ new Sabbath, and what did I plan to do when I found out I was wrong again. Who was I to think that I had ‘the’ truth and everyone in my church – and the world – had it wrong? And what was this going to do to my family???
I explained to her that I had taken my time before bringing it up to her and that I had been studying it out for months at that point and no, I wasn’t going to change my mind again in a couple of months or even a year down the road. She had many accusations and questions, asking me why would I want to do something so drastic by myself? Wasn’t the purpose of attending church to worship together? Who was I going to worship with? I told her that was the least of my concerns. I had learned more in the last few months studying alone then in all the years of attending church. Of course, I would miss going to church with my family and friends, but it was far more important to be obedient to my heavenly Father then just pleasing to my family or friends!
She agreed to make the change in the schedule and out of spite I’m sure, she scheduled me for every Saturday she could. That was alright though.
It felt very strange at first to be working on Saturday. I saw people I knew drive by on their way to church. It felt lonesome to have my family go and not with them. I had discussed along the way all my decisions with my husband and my boys. They were understanding and supportive, yet my husband continued to attend church as usual. I told him that I understood that he needed to do what he was convicted to do just as I was. I appreciated very much that he didn’t try to stop me, so I didn’t try to stop him either.
Several times he came home frustrated about having to go alone and several times he told me about responses he had made to comments as to why I wasn’t with him. “Oh, she’s working,” he would say! I felt misunderstood. Then I would remind myself that I shouldn’t feel ashamed! I had nothing to be ashamed about! I prayed that this would lead to opportunities to share what I had learned. And so, any opportunity that I ran into someone my husband had talked to, I stopped them to explain why I ‘happened’ to be working. They would politely listen, but after that they would avoid the subject of the Sabbath or me.
On the several opportunities I had to return to church, I realized that everyone in my old class was avoiding me. At first I thought it was my imagination, but several times it happened that when someone would see me walking down the walk at church they would brighten up and start to address me and it was as though they would remember something, and their eyes would turn away and they would walk right past me without saying anything. Or they would turn and walk the other way. I realized that something must have been said about me in the class that I had attended and they had been warned that I was dangerous to talk to.
One time, I was having a conversation with a friend who was asking me about the lunar issues and as I explained, a member of the class came up behind him and looked over his shoulder as though trying to see if I had given any literature or books to him. There wasn’t even an acknowledgment to me and I was shocked at how blatant the rudeness had become.
But talk I did, to anyone who would listen or I thought might listen! I still do. I know many will brush the information under the rug, but my prayer is that when the rug is pulled out from under them in the coming conflict, the truth will still be there waiting, staring right up at them and they will have to take notice.
As my journey continues, it gets very lonely sometimes and yet I know I am living for a purpose far larger than myself. Yahuwah must have had a reason for trusting me – and you – with this vital information. Let us go forth in faith and boldly share with anyone who will listen. Let us pray that we will have many divine appointments with opportunities to share this end-time message with those around us and thus add to the numbers of the Heavenly Kingdom.
Remember, we are the seed planters – not the harvesters! We plant the seeds and when the ‘latter rains’ come, the seeds will spring up and the harvest will be ready! Let us pray that we will all be in that harvest!