General Conference Proceedings by A. G. DANIELLS; W. A. SPICER

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · May 20, 1909

General Conference Proceedings

By A. G. DANIELLS; W. A. SPICER

First Meeting

May 13, 10:45 A. M.

The first meeting of the Seventh-day Adventist General Conference was called in the big tent at 10:45 A. M., May 13, 1909, Elder A. G. Daniells, president, in the chair.

Elder Daniells: We would like to have the whole congregation join in singing “Praise God, from whom all blessings flow.”

Elder Irwin read the 105th psalm.

Elder Daniells: We will now engage in a season of prayer, invoking God’s blessing upon this Conference. Every one, I am sure, will join earnestly in this invocation. Brethren Butler and Olsen will lead us, and let us unite heartily with them.

At the close of the season of prayer, the entire congregation united in ascribing praise to God by singing hymn No. 226, of “Christ in Song:”—

“Praise him! praise him! Jesus, our blessed Redeemer! Sing, O earth—his wonderful love proclaim. Hail him, hail him, highest archangels in glory; Strength and honor give to his holy name.”

The Chairman (Elder A. G. Daniells): We have just received a cablegram from Africa, giving us this message:— “Cape Town, South Africa.—‘Blessings unmeasured.’”

I am glad our brethren so far away are thinking of us this morning, and that we have their prayers in behalf of this gathering; and I believe that this message from our brethren in the dark continent is an expression of the feelings of our people in all parts of this wide world. We must not forget that we represent them, and that we represent almost every part of the world in this meeting this morning.

I can say but a few words in the way of welcome to this delegation; and, in speaking, I shall not formally extend a welcome to our brethren from foreign lands, because this is a World’s Conference. I am not here to welcome our brethren from what we call “foreign” lands, more than they are to welcome us in this country, which is to them a foreign land. It will be just as proper for our brethren who have come across the seas, to extend a welcome to the American delegates gathered here, as for any one to extend a welcome to those from across the seas. But I can say that, for one, I am profoundly grateful for this gathering. It was four years ago, on this ground, that we decided not to hold another General Conference until four years had passed. At that time, the present hour seemed a long way off. We scarcely knew whether it would be best to postpone the meeting so long; but we find that the time has passed very quickly. The Conference has come as soon as we were ready for it. During the intervening time, we have looked forward with deep interest to this meeting, and our interest has increased as the time for the convening of the Conference has approached. I know, from letters I have received, from the expressions that have come to us, that our brethren—those who are here and those who are not here—have been greatly interested in this convocation; and this great gathering here this morning is some indication of the interest that has been and is being felt in this session of our General Conference.

Now we are gathered from many countries, speaking many languages, representing great needs and diverse conditions. We are here, not for social enjoyment, nor for entertainment; but we are here for a great work, we are here for the accomplishment of great things for the cause of God; and we should address ourselves most earnestly and zealously to that work.

I shall not detain you long in remarks this morning; but in behalf of my immediate associates in the General Conference work here, I do extend to all delegates from America, from the European division, from Australasia, from South America, Africa, and the islands of the sea, as well as the great mission fields, a most cordial welcome. It does us good here to look into your faces. We realize that you have been on the “firing line;” that you have been bearing heavy burdens. You have been facing tremendous needs. Your calls for help have impressed us with this. We are glad that you can take a little respite, and come here and meet with us and with one another, and exchange experiences and views, and join together in laying plans for the onward march of this great movement with which we are connected.

I do sincerely hope, brethren, that this Conference will prove to be a great occasion. Of course we have never had anything like it, so far as the present situation is concerned. Never in the history of this people have our people come from all parts of the field as they have to this meeting.

And now we want this occasion to be more than a large gathering—we want it to be a great meeting. We want it to mark an era. We have had such meetings. I believe that the 1901 Conference marked an era in this work. The 1903 Conference marked an era; it was a great meeting, although not just of the sort that we like, and from it have come great blessings to this cause.

Now the Lord knows exactly what we need at this meeting; he knows what ought to come to us as a people; he knows just what the cause throughout the whole world requires; and he knows what should be done during this Conference to bring that blessing to his cause. My prayer for weeks has been, and still is, that God will reveal that to us, and give us hearts to do what we ought to do to bring his blessing to us. For this let us earnestly pray while we are here together.

We have asked Brother Conradi to speak, representing the European division, and Elder Irwin, the American division; then we shall open the way for our brethren to speak as the Spirit of the Lord impresses them, and as the gratitude of their hearts prompts them to speak at this opening service.

Words of Good Cheer From Europe

Elder L. R. Conradi: We are surely grateful to the Lord this morning for this General Conference. I believe that if we look over the records of the past, we shall not find another General Conference where the different countries of the wide world were so fully represented as they are here this morning. What we have seen for years by faith we can see to-day with our natural eyes.

Europe can welcome America to this world’s Conference. We are thankful for this. [Amen.] The Lord has said that a time would come when the waste places should be built up, and the foundation of many generations be raised up again. The Sabbatarians, at the time of the Reformation, believed that doctrine, and labored in harmony with it. We can to-day see the waste places built up. The truth we believe is enlightening the world. From all parts of the earth we have come to attend this world’s Conference. The sons of this heavenly family know no difference of nationality; they know but the one language of heaven. When I first came to this Conference, I met some little children: they were the children of China and other countries. So we can truly say that the sons of this heavenly family have come from afar, and the daughters are nursed at our side to-day.

As we have come from all parts of this world, we surely need, more than ever, the anointing of our eyes by God’s Holy Spirit, that we may see the true needs of this world-wide message, and of our ears, that they may be opened always to listen to God’s voice speaking to us, that the will of God, and his will only, may be done in our meeting, and that the kingdom of God may be hastened.

Elder Irwin’s Greeting

Elder G. A. Irwin: As I sat here and looked into the faces of the hundreds of earnest men and women who have gathered from all parts of the world in this great convocation of God’s people, I wished that some of the pioneers who have been laid away to rest could have the privilege of viewing this scene.

The first president of our General Conference is reported to have said that the best evidence of the truthfulness of that message is the message itself; and it seems to me that that was a true statement. Notwithstanding all the efforts that the enemy has made to defeat this truth and to deflect it from its purpose, it has steadily gone on until this morning we are permitted to behold what we see here. I am sure, friends, that the progress that has been made in the past four years shows that God is in this movement. And I may say, also, that we have a message that is going to accomplish its purpose in spite of all the efforts that the enemy can bring to bear against it, either from without or from within. Friends, we should take courage this morning. Courage should be the keynote of this meeting from the very beginning until the end, and we should pray that God may overshadow this place by an innumerable number of angels, and that his Holy Spirit may be the directing, leading influence in every thing that is done.

“My Heart Is of Good Courage”

O. A. Olsen: The scene before us is truly inspiring. It is not merely the largeness of the attendance, but the thought that all parts of the world are represented,—nations, tongues, peoples, living in distant places. What an evidence of the wonderful work that has been accomplished through the third angel’s message!

Brother Conradi has extended a welcome from Europe and adjoining countries. Brother Irwin has spoken for this country. It is my privilege to represent another large division, the isles of the sea.

I am glad to bring you a good word of cheer from the island field. The Lord is blessing; the work is onward. I could not but note, as we were on our journey, that at every port where our vessel stopped, and also at many places as we came by rail, we were greeted by some of our brethren, and in many places had the privilege of holding meetings with them. How different that is from the way it was years ago!

Brethren, my heart is of good courage in the Lord. I have confidence that God will do just what he has said he would do. What we need in this meeting is the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, fitting and preparing us to go forward to finish this work in a short time.

The Beginning of This Work

Elder G. I. Butler: These brethren have spoken on a subject that warms my heart. I suppose that my experience dates back a little farther in this message than that of almost anybody else in this congregation. My experience dates back to the great Advent movement of 1844. I have seen old Father Miller at my father’s house several times. I well remember the beginning of this work. After listening to one sermon from Brother Joseph Bates, my mother commenced to keep the Sabbath in 1848. Father began its observance a little later.

As others have said, I am full of courage. Some one may say, Are you not discouraged, Brother Butler? You have been looking for the Lord so long, you have seen so many trials and troubles and apostasies. Thank the Lord, No. I am not discouraged. I am growing old, and am weakening physically, but my heart is still in this message. I know that God will give it a glorious triumph.

An Incident Recalled

Elder E. W. Farnsworth: This opportunity makes me think of an incident in the life of Paul, when he was on his way to Rome. When he landed in Italy, and met a few brethren who came down to meet him, he thanked God and took courage. As I look into the faces of this congregation, I can not but think that this is an occasion in which we all may thank God and take courage, and believe still more firmly than ever in the truth of the third angel’s message.

One of Our Oldest Pioneers

G. W. Amadon: I did not suppose—A. G. Daniells: Brother Amadon was one among the very first to accept this message, and to connect with the Review and Herald, and he has been with us a half century or more. He is one of our oldest pioneers in this cause to-day.

G. W. Amadon: I was about to say, brethren and sisters, that I did not suppose that I would have anything to do in this meeting but to hear and think and pray. It is a great inspiration to my heart to be present, and to see such a concourse of believers as this.

I embraced the truth in the summer of 1853, and later on in the year I went to the Review and Herald Office, little as it then was, and remained with it until it went down in ashes. God has been very good to me.

The first general meeting I ever attended, held by this people, was a sort of General Conference in the year 1854, in Brother White’s house, in Rochester, N. Y. I think there must have been as many as twenty-five or thirty besides the little company of believers in Rochester. How this work has grown since 1853! We did not then suppose that anything would be done for foreign fields, only in this way,—that people would emigrate from foreign countries, particularly from Europe, and they would write letters back and tell their friends about the truth. But how things have changed! Wonderful, wonderful is this closing work of God! My heart rejoices in it.

Was Sixteen in 1844

J. L. Prescott: As I look into your faces, I can but say, “What hath God wrought!” As I came into this tent, I was reminded of the first advent tent-meeting that I ever attended, in the year 1842, in Concord, N. H. There I heard Joshua V. Himes, and the message seemed precious to my heart. I was born into the faith in 1838. I was sixteen years old in 1844. With my mother I attended the first general gathering after the passing of the time of 1843, at Exeter, N. H. The believers gathered to compare notes, and to engage in some concerted action. After two or three meetings, a brother, H. K. Snow, showed clearly that the 2300 days had not ended, that they must extend to the tenth day of the seventh month, in 1844. The message he gave brought wonderful light and blessing to the company. Well, beloved, I have been an Adventist all these years. I delight in the message. I rejoice in the prospect that the work will soon be consummated in this generation, that possibly the dear Lord will let me survive to witness his coming in the clouds of heaven.

Greeting from Elder Wheeler

Elder Daniells: We have a message sent to us by the oldest minister in our denomination, Elder Frederick Wheeler, now in the ninety-ninth year of his age. This statement was dictated to Elder F. H. DeVinney at West Monroe, N. Y., May 3, 1909. We will ask the secretary to read it.

(Reading): “To my brethren assembled in General Conference, I improve this opportunity to send you my feeble greetings, and assure you of my love for, and continued interest in, present truth. I believe that we are living in the closing period of the gospel age; that every hour is full of deepest interest, and should be improved to the very best possible advantage to secure our own needed preparation and the advancement of the truth. I rejoice to-day that the Lord in mercy saw fit to give me a place in this work in its early history. For more than half a century I have looked for the realization of the ‘blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ.’ “That hope was never more precious to me, nor my confidence in its soon realization more firm, than to-day. I rejoice in the progress that the truth is making; that God is opening the way, in his providence, for the gospel of the kingdom soon to go to all the world. I humbly pray for the special blessing of God to be upon each of you, and upon the Conference, and that it may result in the advancement of the cause and the salvation of the perishing. While I can not well expect to live to see it, yet I firmly believe that the consummation of our hopes will be in this generation.”

Admission of Conferences

The Chairman then called for report as to union conferences not yet admitted to the General Conference. W. B. White presented for admission the North Pacific Union Conference, organized out of the territory of the Pacific Union, in 1906. It includes the States of Washington, Oregon, Montana, Idaho, and the Territory of Alaska, a territory larger than all the United States east of the Mississippi, with a population about equal to that of Kentucky. The union has a membership of five conferences, with 143 churches, and 5,724 members. “The great Northwest,” he said, “the last West, is rapidly developing. The future looks bright for evangelical work.”

Upon motion of W. B. White, the request for admission of the North Pacific Union Conference to the General Conference, was granted, and its delegates were seated.

The hour for adjournment having come, admission of other union conferences was deferred, and, upon motion, the Conference adjourned until 3 P. M. Benediction by Elder R. A. Underwood,

A. G. DANIELLS, Chairman, W. A. SPICER, Secretary.