General Conference

Seventh-day Adventist Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Jan 19, 1882

General Conference.

FROM the concluding report of the business proceedings of the General Conference, we extract the following resolutions, which are of general interest:—

WHEREAS, Our publishing house and our Sanitarium are somewhat burdened by the debts which rest upon them, and—

WHEREAS, The lack of means in other branches of the work renders it impossible to meet the many urgent calls for light and help which are coming to us constantly from nearly every portion of the civilized world; therefore—

Resolved, That we recognize in this state of things the unmistakable voice of God calling upon those who love his cause to contribute liberally of their substance to relieve the same from the present indebtedness, and to furnish the necessary means for more extended missionary effort.

WHEREAS, It is, according to the light wich God has given us, very necessary that men, qualified by experience and education to engage in the work of colporters, should be employed in large numbers in various parts of the field; therefore—

Resolved, That we call the attention of the tract societies, and of our brethren everywhere, to this subject, and that we exhort them to take steps immediately in the direction of carrying out the duty enjoined.

Resolved, That we hereby express our sympathy for those laboring in the European missions, and that we acknowledge with gratitude the opening providence of God before the work in these countries.

WHEREAS, Different points in Great Britain furnish extensive fields for ministerial labor and for ship missionary work, and

WHEREAS, Those laboring in this field are so few that the removal of any one to other fields of labor would cripple the mission; therefore—

Resolved, That we recommend the General Conference Committee, with the assistance of Eld. Loughborough, to procure such assistance as is needed in both of these fields of labor, that they may be gaining an experience with those now working in the mission.

WHEREAS, The nature of the work connected with our European missions, and the difficulties and wants of those who are laboring therein are but partially understood by our people in this country, which has prevented their giving all that assistance to those missions which the circumstances demanded, and

WHEREAS, No one would be qualified to set before the brethren in various States the necessities of that branch of the work, unless he had visited those countries and learned the peculiarities of the situation by personal observation; and our missionaries cannot remain away from their work to set these matters before our people generally; therefore—

Resolved, That we recommend Eld. Haskell to visit those missions at his earliest convenience, for the purpose of acquainting himself with the situation, that he may aid and encourage the missionaries there, and be able to set forth more fully to our people in this country their duty in relation to them.

WHEREAS, The Holy Spirit has emphatically condemned the adorning of the person with "gold or pearls, or costly array" (1 Tim. 2: 9; 1 Pet. 3: 3); therefore—

Resolved, (1) That we re-iterate the former exhortations of this body to plainness of dress on the part of our people, and that we express it as our solemn conviction that no person can disregard the positive injunctions of Scripture upon this point, without exposing himself or herself to the frown of Heaven.

Resolved, (2) That we commend to the careful and prayerful attention of our people the remarks which are made upon this subject in Testimony No. 30, pp. 151-178.

Resolved, That we express it as the judgment of this body that attendance upon circuses, theaters, trotting matches, humorous lectures, and entertainments of like character cannot be reconciled with the plain teachings of the word of God, and the faith which we as a people hold respecting the near coming of Christ, and the session of the Judgment.

WHEREAS, Eld. Geo. I. Butler, though in feeble health, has been elected President of the Publishing Association, and re-elected by us to the position of President of the General Conference; therefore—

Resolved, Thas we owe it to him and to the cause which we represent to make his case the subject of earnest prayer, to the end that God may impart to him strength and wisdom sufficient to enable him to bear up under the arduous labors, and to meet the weighty responsibilities which will devolve upon him for the year to come.

WHEREAS, There are brethren and sisters in different churches who do not for weeks attend religious meetings, and allow quarter after quarter to pass without being present at the ordinances; therefore—

Resolved, That the Chair be empowered to appoint a committee of two to write an article to be published in the Review, setting forth the wrong of such a course of action.

Resolved, That we express it as the judgment of this body that the use of domestic wines as a beverage, or the manufacture of the same, in order that they may be employed for that purpose, should be discountenanced at all times by members of our denomination, as being contrary to the plain teachings of Scripture, and the highest interests of society.

It was recommeded that Eld. E. W. Farnsworth, of Iowa, labor in Nevada; Eld. M. B. Miller, of Michigan, in Vermont; Eld. E. W. Whitney, of New York, in Texas; Eld. O. A. Johnson, of Wisconsin, among the Scandinavians in Nebraska; and Edward Olsen, among the Scandinavians in Iowa.