The State of the General Conference
The general conference is not a church. Instead, it's a corporation that is bound to the state via a 501c3 contract.
The 501c3 contract gives an organization (mostly religious, but also charities) certain tax benefits while at the same time complying with government regulations.
Initially the 501c3 contract didn't allow for lobbying, but that was changed in December 2017 (and also further in July 2025), so churches can now mingle with state issues, etc. This is essentially what an "image of the beast" looks like. Donald Trump has already said that he wants to give churches more power.
If a church (under the 501c3 contract) does not obey the government they will face heavy penalties.
This is essentially what happened with COVID-19 where the general conference followed state propaganda rather than its own health reform message (and support members who were looking for a religious exemption, etc). The SDA church also received millions of dollars (was it 78 million?) to promote the vaccine. I saw this with my own eyes in the Sabbath school Bible study guide.
The question now arises: in what state is the general conference? Will they stand up for when the Sunday law comes, or will they ignore the prophetic signs, follow the government's instructions (as they did with COVID-19), and acknowledge another day of rest alongside the seventh-day Sabbath.
I'm gravely concerned that it will be the latter, and I'm not the only one. In fact, Conrad Vine recently made a video on this. To watch it, please click here.
The question asked in the video is: Should we finance the general conference with our tithes or not?
From what I have seen, most conference churches are Laodicean. For example, I was in an SDA church where no one even said "the mark of the beast" from the pulpit for nearly 2 years. In fact, the only time I heard it was from a guest speaker. They have a female pastor now. All in full compliance with the conference. And I found it to be similar in other churches as well. It essentially is a "peace and safety" message without any preparation for the time of trouble (including outreach).
I have also heard of SDA churches that worship on Sunday (in Samoa I believe). How's that even possible?
Don't get me wrong, I will never say to an SDA church member to "come out of her", but I will raise the question as to whether we should be a conference church or not.
You can still be part of God's church without being connected to the general conference, or a SDA church.
God has a church. It is not the great cathedral, neither is it the national establishment, neither is it the various denominations; it is the people who love God and keep His commandments. "Where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them." Where Christ is, even among the humble few, this is Christ's church, for the presence of the High and Holy One who inhabiteth eternity can alone constitute a church. Where two or three are present who love and obey the commandments of God, Jesus there presides, let it be in the desolate place of the earth, in the wilderness, in the city, [or] enclosed in prison walls. The glory of God has penetrated the prison walls, flooding with glorious beams of heavenly light the darkest dungeon. His saints may suffer, but their sufferings will, like the apostles' of old, spread their faith and win souls to Christ and glorify His holy name. The bitterest opposition expressed by those who hate God's great moral standard of righteousness should not and will not shake the steadfast soul who trusts fully in God.
- Ellen White, Manuscript Releases, vol. 17, p. 81.4
Note the distinction here between God's church (invisible), and the church building (visible) which has the wheat and the tares in it.
Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.
- Matthew 13:30 (KJV)
The SDA churches (buildings) will cease to exist once the "no buy or sell" law is passed, as it won't be possible to do things like pay the rent anymore, etc. At that point the SDA churches will have to go underground (if they haven't already), hiding in small groups.
At one point it will get so bad that Ellen White says:
Satan will work his miracles to deceive; he will set up his power as supreme. The church may appear as about to fall, but it does not fall. It remains, while the sinners in Zion will be sifted out-the chaff separated from the precious wheat. This is a terrible ordeal, but nevertheless it must take place. None but those who have been overcoming by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony will be found with the loyal and true, without spot or stain of sin, without guile in their mouths. We must be divested of our self-righteousness and arrayed in the righteousness of Christ.
- Ellen White, Selected Messages, vol. 2, p. 380.2
Some people interpret the "does not fall" bit as an excuse to stay with the sinking ship (the sinking part is actually acknowledged by most within the SDA church). However, this is incorrect. That phrase actually refers to God's invisible church, e.g. it will look as all of God's children will be gone, except for a very small remnant near the end. Those, God will deliver.
For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
- 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 (KJV)
How Did it Get to This?
I don't claim to fully understand this, but maybe it's something like this. Imagine a small group, say 5 people, who meet every week. After a while they may want to do some kind of outreach, and create a joint bank account. The person in charge of the account becomes the treasurer, and at some point a Bible worker is needed.
So as "the church" (a group of God's people) grows, so does the structure (bank account, treasurer, Bible worker, etc).
So, my first question is, that if the structure is taken away from this small group, whether there still is a church? I think there is. Church is not a building. It is not the structure that was created to support the church in the first place.
I suspect that the structure of the SDA church (the general conference) has gone rogue (for whatever reason, it doesn't matter why), and is in fact now telling the actual church what to do, e.g. vaccines, tithing (to the conference only), etc. And I think that's where we are today.
So far I've seen the following things that are part of this "structure":
- Not the voice of God anymore (Ellen White said this)
- UN membership (a political organization run by the Vatican)
- 501c3 contract with the state (as in the US government)
- Vaccine response (following state propoganda)
- Not allowed to ask vaccine questions at the general conference meeting
- SDA hospitals performing abortions for some 20+ years
- SDA name(s) are trademarked
- Conrad Vine (and others) banned from their conference for speaking out
- Worship on Sunday in Samoa, Tonga, etc
- Pastors that don't want to talk about the Second Coming, the Mark of the Beast, or quote from Ellen White
- Worldly churches that are no different from Sunday churches
- Female pastors
- Wordly, lukewarm state for most (?) SDA churches
- With regards to the Fundamental Beliefs: #2: It uses the word Trinity (instead of Godhead), #25: "Christ's coming is imminent" has been replaced with "Christ's coming is near".
- Church manual rejected "in principle" in 1883, but then accepted in 1932
- Etc
That's not right, and I have huge reservations as to whether I'm even willing to join an organization that does all that. I have personally seen worldly conference churches where the pastors do not even speak about the mark of the beast, or quote from Ellen White. That was a very disappointing experience.
There are arguments for staying of course:
God has a church upon the earth who are His chosen people, who keep His commandments. He is leading, not stray offshoots, not one here and one there, but a people. The truth is a sanctifying power; but the church militant is not the church triumphant. There are tares among the wheat. 'Wilt thou then that we ... gather them up?' was the question of the servant; but the master answered, 'Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them.' The gospel net draws not only good fish, but bad ones as well, and the Lord only knows who are His.
- Ellen White, Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, p. 61
But yeah, was that a message for the early church, or for the end church as well?
I'm kind of over the whole discussion to be honest. I think that when persecution comes, most churches will be scattered into pieces anyway.
Each church is different, and you can decide for yourself. 
Further Study
SDA Remnant = Commandments + Spirit of Prophecy
And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.
- Revelation 12:17 (KJV)
And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.
- Revelation 19:10 (KJV)
It doesn't say anything about being part of a conference church.
The general conference is no longer considered to be the voice of God by Ellen White:
O, my very soul is drawn out in these things! Men who have not learned to submit themselves to the control and discipline of God, are not competent to train the youth, to deal with human minds. It is just as much an impossibility for them to do this work as it would be for them to make a world. That these men should stand in a sacred place, to be as the voice of God to the people, as we once believed the General Conference to be,-that is past. What we want now is a reorganization. We want to begin at the foundation, and to build upon a different principle.
- Ellen White, The General Conference Bulletin, April 3 1901
Note that there are actually two parts to the general conference, e.g. the general conference in session (representatives from all churches), and the general conference executive committee (small group of men that carry out the decisions made by the general conference in session). Ellen White makes that distinction as well.
At times, when a small group of men entrusted with the general management of the work have, in the name of the General Conference, sought to carry out unwise plans and to restrict God's work, I have said that I could no longer regard the voice of the General Conference, represented by these few men, as the voice of God. But this is not saying that the decisions of a General Conference composed of an assembly of duly appointed, representative men from all parts of the field should not be respected. God has ordained that the representatives of His church from all parts of the earth, when assembled in a General Conference, shall have authority. The error that some are in danger of committing is in giving to the mind and judgment of one man, or of a small group of men, the full measure of authority and influence that God has vested in His church in the judgment and voice of the General Conference assembled to plan for the prosperity and advancement of His work.
- Ellen White, Testimonies, vol. 9, p. 260.2 (1909)
Walter Veith made some really good points about the remnant, Babylon, and the SDA apostasy in this video.