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Proceedings of the Fourteenth Annual Session of the S. D. Adventist General Conference

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Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Aug 26, 1875

FromReview and Herald, Vol. 46, No. 8.

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Proceedings of the Fourteenth Annual Session of the S. D. Adventist General Conference.

By James White; Uriah Smith

CAMP-GROUND, Battle Creek, Mich., Aug. 15, 1875, 9 A. M. Conference opened with prayer by the Chairman, Eld. James White.
The following delegates were present.
From Michigan, S. Brownsberger, J. H. Kellogg, E. R. Jones, J. S. Day, R. J. Lawrence, E. S. Griggs.
From Ohio, H. H. Van Camp.
“ Wisconsin, Eld. Jas. White.
“ Indiana, Jas. Harvey.
“ N. Y. & Pa., E. W. Whitney.
“ Iowa & Nebraska, F. H. Chapman, H. Nicola.
From Illinois, Eld. T. M. M. Steward.
“ Maine, S. Howland.
“ Vermont, Eld. D. T. Bourdeau.
“ New England, Eld. S. N. Haskell.
“ Minnesota, John Fulton.
“ Kansas & Missouri, Theo. Brackett.
“ California, Eld. Jas. White.
Some of these were not regularly appointed delegates, but being more or less directly from the States they represented, were invited by the Conference to act as such.
Reports from State Conferences show the present standing of the General Conference to be as follows:—
Maine New England Vermont N. Y. & Pa. Ohio Michigan Indiana Wisconsin Illinois Minnesota Iowa & Neb. Kansas & Mo. California Swiss Mission Total
Ministers 1 2 1 5 1 11 14 6 4 6 9 4 4 2 69
Licentiates 2 3 3 4 2 4 3 6 3 2 8 6 3 2 49
Churches 9 17 14 34 12 71 28 22 38 28 22 4 14 5 308
No. of Members 26 36 32 261 269 2926 1858 350 386 700 2410 345 450 200 9839
S. B. Fund Pledged $848.87 $2300.00 $1780.22 $1927.29 $1494.34 $6431.70 $936.22 $1800.00 $350.00 $386.81 $1239.17 $1640.17 $450.00 $200.00 $26180.62
S. B. Used by Churches $11.16 $2486.83 $150.00 $2647.99
S. B. Fund pledged to State Conf. $848.87 $2300.00 $1780.22 $1927.29 $1483.18 $3925.67 $935.22 $1800.00 $350.00 $386.81 $2410.00 $1640.17 $450.00 $300.00 $29319.16
S. B. Fund pledged to Gen. Conf. $500.00 $250.00 $1000.00 $100.00 $1850.00
S. B. Fund on hand $60.00 $4542.57 $100.00 $4802.57
Minutes of last session read and approved.
On motion, the Chair appointed the following committees:—
On Nominations, H. Nicola, E. H. Root, E. W. Whitney.
On Resolutions, U. Smith, S. Brownsberger, J. H. Kellogg.
On Auditing, Jerome Fargo, F. H. Chapman.

SECOND SESSION.

Monday, Aug. 16, 7:30 A. M. Prayer by Eld. D. T. Bourdeau. Minutes of last session read and approved. By vote, Eld. N. V. Hull, delegate from the S. D. Baptist General Conference, was heartily welcomed to a place in this body. Eld. Hull responded with some very friendly and cordial remarks touching the relation of the body he represented, to the S. D. Adventists, to which Eld. White in behalf of the Conference replied. By vote, all present in good standing were invited to participate in the deliberations of the Conference.
The Nominating Committee recommended the following persons as officers of the Conference the coming year:—
For President, Eld. James White. “ Secretary, U. Smith. “ Treasurer, Miss Freddie House.
For Executive Com., Eld. James White, of Battle Creek, Mich., and Oakland, Cal.; J. N. Loughborough, of Oakland, Cal.; J. N. Andrews, of Neuchatel, Switzerland.
These persons were thereupon unanimously elected to the offices named.
The report of the Committee on Resolutions being called for, they presented the following, which were considered and adopted:—

REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON RESOLUTIONS.

The committee appointed to present resolutions to the Conference, suggest the following for their consideration:—
1. The School. Whereas, We recognize the hand of God in establishing a school in the city of Battle Creek, for the special purpose of presenting facilities, under favorable circumstances, for the thorough education of the youth of S. D. Adventists; and,
Whereas, Its establishment is unmistakable evidence that God would shield our children from the wicked influences so current in our public schools,
Resolved, That we hail with grateful hearts this new institution as meeting, in a measure, the providence of God.
Resolved, That this enterprise is worthy of our most hearty patronage, and that we do all in our power to recommend it to the friends of the cause of present truth and health reform generally.
2. The Health Reform. Whereas, The subject of health reform has now been agitated among us for more than half a score of years; and,
Whereas, We have found that the uniform result of the practical adoption of its teachings has been to increase physical, mental, and moral strength, and thus to promote spiritual growth,
Resolved, That we hereby express our confidence in the principles of health reform, and urge its more thorough adoption by those among us who have as yet made but little progress in this direction.
Resolved, That we especially urge upon our ministers the importance of this reform as a most efficient means of giving them clearness and strength of mind to present Bible truths in the most forcible and impressive manner.
Resolved, That, in view of the benefits which we have ourselves received from practicing the teachings of health reform, and of the intimate relation which it sustains to the general cause, we urge upon the friends of the cause every greater energy in the promulgation of these truths by personal efforts in the circulation of health publications.
3. Fulfillment of Prophecy. Whereas, The fulfillment of the message of Rev. 14: 9, which is to go to nations, tongues, and peoples, and is to be fulfilled but once, is the highest evidence of the nearness of the end; therefore,
Resolved, That the wonderful facts which have recently come to our knowledge relative to the springing up of the principles of this message in different parts of the world, almost without the aid of the living preacher, reveal to us, as nothing else could, the hand of God in this work, and call upon us for corresponding action.
Resolved, That we recommend the Executive Committee to take immediate steps to establish a printing office in Europe, to issue periodicals and publications in the French and German languages, and also to enter the openings presenting themselves in Great Britain, France, Germany, Holland, Italy, Hungary, Africa, and Australia.
4. The Work on the Pacific Coast. Resolved, That we have great cause of gratitude, in the continued prosperity of the work on the Pacific Coast, through which already about a thousand souls in the territory between Mexico and British Columbia are rejoicing in the truth; and we recommend our people to take stock liberally in the Pacific Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association, that it may be immediately placed on a permanent basis.
Resolved, That we approve of the invitation extended by the Michigan Conference to Eld. J. N. Loughborough, to labor for a time in Michigan, to help the suffering cause in that State.
5. Conducting Conference Sessions. Resolved, That, in our judgment, it would add great interest to the proceedings of our Conference, if each annual session should be opened with an anniversary sermon, pertaining to some portion of our Conference work; and, if suitable persons should be appointed to present essays, or address the Conference, upon such subjects of interest as the meeting might determine, these appointments to be made one year in advance; and we recommend that this course be pursued.
6. A Mammoth Tent. Resolved, That the General Conference should own a mammoth tent or pavilion, at least 80 by 120 feet, which can be used at our larger camp-meetings or other important gatherings, as occasion may require.
7. Conference Constitution. Resolved, That the secretary prepare the Constitution of the General Conference, embodying all the amendments up to the present time, for publication in pamphlet form.
Respectfully submitted, U. SMITH, S. BROWNSBERGER, J. H. KELLOGG, } Committee.
8. Leadership. The following resolution was submitted to the Conference by Eld. Geo. I. Butler:—
Whereas, In the session of the General Conference held in the autumn of 1873, a resolution was passed endorsing a tract entitled Leadership, written by Eld. Butler; and
Whereas, It has been shown that some of the sentiments contained in said tract were incorrect; therefore,
Resolved, That the resolution above referred to be, and the same is hereby, rescinded.
Pending the adoption of this resolution, Eld. White made very clear and forcible remarks on the subject, setting forth the manner in which his mind had been led in this matter, resulting in his writing out almost immediately the articles which subsequently appeared over his signature in the Signs and the Review, before he knew that any objection was raised against the address referred to. He also set forth ably the principles of Leadership which, according to the Scriptures, must hold in the church of Christ.
It was then moved to amend the resolution by striking out its second and third clauses, and substituting in their place the following:—
“Whereas, Further examination has shown that some of the sentiments contained in said tract were incorrect; therefore, “Resolved, That the tract referred to be placed in the hands of a committee (said committee to be appointed by this Conference) to be so revised as to correspond with the better understanding which now exists on the subject of Leadership.”
The amendment was carried, and the resolution as amended was then unanimously adopted.

TREASURER’S REPORT.

Bal. on Hand, at commencement of the year, July 31, 1874, $1,920.46 Received during year, $5,515.17 Total, $7,435.63 Paid out during year, $6,331.51 Bal. on Hand, Aug. 9, 1875, $1,104.12 Total, $7,435.63

THIRD SESSION.

Prayer by Eld. White. On motion, the Chair appointed U. Smith, S. Brownsberger, and J. H. Kellogg, a committee of three to revise the address on Leadership, according to resolution No. 8.
On motion, Eld. White was appointed to speak on the Wants and Progress of the Cause at our next annual meeting; S. Brownsberger, on the subject of Education; Dr. J. H. Kellogg, on the subject of Health Reform; Eld. S. N. Haskell, on the subject of Tract and Missionary Operations; and Eld. U. Smith, on the subject of Our Publications, in accordance with resolution No. 5.
Adjourned to call of the Chair.
JAS. WHITE, Pres. U. SMITH, Sec.