“That which in the counsels of heaven the Father and the Son deemed essential for man’s salvation is clearly presented in the Holy Scriptures.” Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 438
“Christ’s words contain nothing that is nonessential. The Sermon on the Mount is a wonderful production, yet so simple that a child can study it without misunderstanding. … Every word He uttered came from God, and He spoke with the authority of heaven. … His teaching is full of ennobling, saving truth, to which men’s highest ambitions and most profound investigations can bear no comparison. He was alive to the terrible ruin hanging over the race, and He came to save souls by His own righteousness, bringing to the world definite assurance of hope and complete relief.
“It is because Christ’s words are disregarded, because the word of God is given a second place in education, that infidelity is riot and iniquity is rife. … A mass of tradition, containing merely a semblance of truth, is brought into the courses of study given in the schools of the world. The force of much human teaching is found in assertion, not in truth. … There is a painful uncertainty, a constant searching, a reaching for assurance, that can be found only in God. The trumpet of human greatness may be sounded, but it is with an uncertain sound; it is not reliable, and the salvation of souls cannot be assured by it.
“In acquiring earthly knowledge, men have thought to gain a treasure; and they have laid the Bible aside, ignorant that it contains a treasure worth everything else. A failure to study and obey God’s word has brought confusion into the world. Men have left the guardianship of Christ for the guardianship of the great rebel… .
“When in difficulty, philosophers and men of science try to satisfy their minds without appealing to God. They ventilate their philosophy in regard to the heavens and the earth, accounting for plagues, pestilences, epidemics, earthquakes, and famines by their supposed science. Questions relating to creation and providence they attempt to solve by saying, This is a law of nature.” Ibid., 439, 440
If you are uncertain about why the world is in the mess it is in, read these predictions found in Matthew 24, Mark 13, Luke 21, 2 Timothy 3, 2 Thessalonians 2, 1 Peter 4, and 2 Peter 3.