The Desire of Ages, page 172, paragraph 3
A person may not be able to tell the exact time or place, or to trace all the circumstances in the process of conversion; but this does not prove him to be unconverted. By an agency as unseen as the wind, Christ is constantly working upon the heart. Little by little, perhaps unconsciously to the receiver, impressions are made that tend to draw the soul to Christ. These may be received through meditating upon Him, through reading the Scriptures, or through hearing the word from the living preacher. Suddenly, as the Spirit comes with more direct appeal, the soul gladly surrenders itself to Jesus. By many this is called sudden conversion; but it is the result of long wooing by the Spirit of God,--a patient, protracted process.
Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, July 7, 1904, paragraph 11
A man sees his danger. He sees that he needs a change of character, a change of heart. He is stirred; his fears are aroused. The Spirit of God is working in him, and with fear and trembling he works for himself, seeking to find out his defects of character, and to see what he can do to bring about the needed change in his life. His heart is humbled. By confession and repentance he shows the sincerity of his desire to reform. He confesses his sins to God, and if he has injured any one, he confesses the wrong to the one he has injured. While God is working, the sinner, under the influence of the Holy Spirit, works out that which God is working in mind and heart. He acts in harmony with the Spirit's working, and his conversion is genuine.
The Desire of Ages, page 466, paragraph 4
The expulsion of sin is the act of the soul itself. True, we have no power to free ourselves from Satan's control; but when we desire to be set free from sin, and in our great need cry out for a power out of and above ourselves, the powers of the soul are imbued with the divine energy of the Holy Spirit, and they obey the dictates of the will in fulfilling the will of God.
Steps to Christ, page 49, paragraph 3
You have confessed your sins, and in heart put them away. You have resolved to give yourself to God. Now go to Him, and ask that He will wash away your sins and give you a new heart.
Testimonies for the Church Volume Five, page 47, paragraph 1
We must gain the victory over self, crucify the affections and lusts; and then begins the union of the soul with Christ.
Special Testimonies for Ministers and Workers -- No. 9, page 54, paragraph 4
God proposes to purify and refine the defiled soul; then he will implant in the heart his own righteousness and peace and health, and man becomes complete in him.
Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, October 5, 1897, paragraph 13
But Jesus was ever presenting before them that these [defects of character] must be given up, emptied from the soul, that he might implant a new nature therein.
Evangelism, page 286, paragraph 1
I have been shown that many have confused ideas in regard to conversion.
S.D.A. Bible Commentary Vol. 6, page 1101, paragraph 1
When men who claim to be Christians retain all their natural defects of character and disposition, in what does their position differ from that of the worldling? They do not appreciate the truth as a sanctifier, a refiner. They have not been born again.
Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, July 30, 1901, paragraphs 10 and 11
Many who profess to follow Christ have not genuine religion. They do not reveal in the lives the fruit of true conversion. They are controlled by the same habits, the same spirit of faultfinding and selfishness, which controlled them before they accepted Christ.
S.D.A. Bible Commentary Vol. 6, page 1075, paragraph 7
The new birth is a rare experience in this age of the world.
The Desire of Ages, page 172, paragraph 1
The Christian’s life is not a modification or improvement of the old, but a transformation of nature. There is a death to self and sin, and a new life altogether.
Testimonies for the Church Volume Four, page 16, paragraph 4
True conversion is a radical change. The very drift of the mind and bent of the heart should be turned and life become new again in Christ.
In Heavenly Places, page 20, paragraph 3
Conversion is a change of heart, a turning from unrighteousness to righteousness.
Maranatha, page 237, paragraph 2
A genuine conversion changes hereditary and cultivated tendencies to wrong.
The Paulson Collection of Ellen G. White Letters, page 359, paragraph 2
Old things, his natural temper, natural passions, and hereditary traits of character pass away, and the man is renewed, converted, sanctified.
Testimonies to Southern Africa, page 30, paragraph 2
Genuine conversion is transformation of character. New purposes, new moral tastes are created. Defects of character are overcome.
Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, April 24, 1900, paragraph 6
Then we are cleansed from all sin, all defects of character. We need not retain one sinful propensity.
Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, July 22, 1890, paragraph 15
That which was objectionable in the character is purified from the soul by the love of Jesus. All selfishness is expelled, all envy, all evil-speaking, is rooted out, and a radical transformation is wrought in the heart.
Christ's Object Lessons, page 330, paragraph 2
Moral perfection is required of all. Never should we lower the standard of righteousness in order to accommodate inherited or cultivated tendencies to wrong-doing. We need to understand that imperfection of character is sin. All righteous attributes of character dwell in God as a perfect, harmonious whole, and every one who receives Christ as a personal Saviour is privileged to possess these attributes.
The Desire of Ages, page 676, paragraph 4
The life of the vine will be manifest in fragrant fruit on the branches. "He that abideth in Me," said Jesus, "and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without Me ye can do nothing." When we live by faith on the Son of God, the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives; not one will be missing.