An Explanation by A. G. DANIELLS.

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Washington, D. C. · Aug 3, 1905

An Explanation

By A. G. DANIELLS.

Those who have followed with care the business proceedings of the recent General Conference, are aware that Elder G. A. Irwin was elected one of the vice-presidents of the General Conference, and transferred from Australasia to the United States. In view of the earnest efforts we are continually making to send good laborers from the States to foreign fields, it seems proper that the reasons should be given for calling Brother Irwin from a distant land where he was so sorely needed, and where he was rendering the cause such valuable service.

The principal reason for making this change was to secure Elder Irwin’s experience and services for the general administrative work of the cause. Thank God, our cause is not standing still. It is growing. It is continually adding new territory, increasing its facilities, and enlarging its range of operations. This of necessity steadily adds to the burdens and responsibilities of the general administration.

Many of us can well remember when the operations of the General Conference were confined to the United States, and principally to the English-speaking people of the States. Then administrative affairs of the General Conference could be attended to very efficiently by a General Conference Committee of three. But a great change has taken place.

Missionaries have gone from the United States to nearly all the countries of the world. Thousands of believers have been added to our ranks. Scores of conferences and missions have been organized in all parts of the world. Departments representing special phases of work have been added, and have grown to large proportions. Many new languages have been added, calling for new publications. Schools, sanitariums, and printing plants have been multiplied throughout the wide field. This has called for a larger number and a wider range of workers, and for a broader and more perfect organization. And all this has necessarily very greatly increased the variety and weight of the responsibilities of the General Conference Committee. To meet the situation the committee has been gradually increased from three to thirty-one members; union conferences have been organized to take larger responsibilities than could be taken by local conferences, thus transferring many details from the general committee; large departmental committees have been appointed to look after the details of special lines of work. It is only by this method of distributing responsibilities that the General Conference officers have been kept from being overwhelmed with responsibilities.

Two years ago Elder Conradi was elected a vice-president of the General Conference with the understanding that he would have the general supervision of the work in Europe. Professor Prescott was elected a vice-president for the North American union conferences. His duties as editor of the REVIEW and president of the Review and Herald Publishing Association made it impossible for him to devote a large amount of time to the details of the administrative work in North America. Therefore these details came to the president of the General Conference. They proved to be so varied, numerous, and pressing that interests of a more general character and pertaining to more distant fields could not receive the attention they required.

It was to strengthen this weak point in our administrative affairs that Elder Irwin was elected vice-president for North America, and transferred to that territory. Brother Irwin will now take the same general supervision of the work among the North American union conferences that Brother Conradi takes among the European union conferences and missions. He will arrange with the union conference presidents for the time and place of union conference sessions, camp-meetings, and other special general meetings, also for providing the general laborers required. He will confer with the chairman of the various departments regarding their work, the holding of united conventions, etc. All correspondence of a general character relating to the transfer of laborers from one union conference to another will go to him. In short, the many details of the work in North America that pertain to the General Conference, and which have heretofore gone to the president, will now be addressed to Brother Irwin. He will also arrange to attend camp-meetings, union conference sessions, special meetings and conventions.

From this brief and incomplete outline it will readily be seen that the vice-president will have all that he can do. His time and powers will be taxed to the utmost. Should it be asked what the president will do with so many details assigned to others, I will state that he hopes to be able to give some attention to many important, weighty interests of a general character which he has seriously neglected in order to attend to more local details. The great problems of our mission fields, the translation, production, and distribution of literature in behalf of the great masses of humanity now in the darkness of heathenism, the improvement and enlargement of our ministry, the development of our educational work, and the visiting of distant mission fields to assist in organizing and strengthening the work begun are some of the interests to which the president of the General Conference may now be able to give proper attention. They are worthy of the best service he is able to render.

I am greatly relieved and sincerely gratified with the arrangement that has been made for Brother Irwin to take this large part in the general administrative work: I believe the hand of the Lord is in this move. The Lord has blessed his labors in Australasia, and he will be missed by our people there. But Elder O. A. Olsen will take his place in that important field. The outlook was never more encouraging to me than at present. This cause is surely speeding onward to a triumphant close.

A. G. DANIELLS.