Finding Faith: The beliefs of Seventh-day Adventists, why they worship on Saturday, and the challenges they face
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I pull into the church parking lot at 800 Westhill Ave. in Idaho Falls, right across the street from Skyline High School. It’s 3 p.m. on a Wednesday.
I walk into the foyer, where I’m greeted warmly by an older gentleman in a suit and tie.
We shake hands and he introduces himself as Harold Peters. He is there to lead a Bible study with several members of the congregation.
We walk into a small room, where six people are seated around a table with their Bibles, waiting for the meeting to begin.
This isn’t the church’s regular worship service, which is usually held on Saturday at 11 a.m. This is just the regular, weekly Bible study to give members an additional opportunity to hear the word of God.
Most of the people in attendance are older men, but two women are there with their husbands.
After introducing myself to the group, they start talking about several members of the congregation who need some prayers.
Another lady arrives just a few minutes late. They finish the conversation and Peters then begins the meeting by inviting them all to bow their heads.
“Our Heavenly Father, we come to you with an earnest desire to sense your presence with us today as we study,” Peters prays.
When the prayer is finished, everyone opens their bibles and Peters begins the discussion.
“Jesus declared, ‘When I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself. And He was talking about being lifted up on the cross,” says Peters. “One of the founding persons of the Seventh Day Adventists church in speaking about that said, ‘The sacrifice of Christ as an atonement for sin is the great truth around which all other truths cluster.’”
Welcome to Finding Faith, a podcast exploring the history, culture and beliefs of different denominations in eastern Idaho. Today, we explore the beliefs of Seventh-day Adventists. In this episode, members explain why they worship on Saturday and the challenges they face.
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