The Call For A General Conference

The April 7, 1863, issue of the Review carried the call for a meeting of the General Conference, at which it was hoped that the state conferences could be bound together in a unified organization across the land. The delegates were called to meet on Wednesday, May 20. The notice stated:WV 85.1

The several conference committees in the different states are requested to send delegates, or letters at their discretion. The brethren in those localities where there is no state conference can also be represented in the conference by delegates or letters (Ibid., April 7, 1863).WV 85.2

On Wednesday afternoon, May 20, twenty ministers and laymen assembled in Battle Creek to present their credentials. The conference moved into its work in organizing the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists.WV 85.3

The conference elected John Byington as president; Uriah Smith, secretary; and E. S. Walker, treasurer. James White was first unanimously elected to the presidency, but he thought it best to let another carry that responsibility. Byington would be joined by J. N. Andrews and G. W. Amadon, making an executive committee of three. The main thrust of the conference related to organization in both the state conferences and the General Conference.WV 85.4

This step in organization brought the church into a unified denominational structure in time to meet the emergencies of the military draft, and prepared to make advance steps as the health message came, through vision, two weeks after the session.WV 85.5