The Founding Session

The General Conference Session in Battle Creek, Michigan, held on May 20 and 21, 1863, marks the official incorporation of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. The following slides feature the Session venue, participants, the official constitution adopted, and the officers elected.

Transcript

1. The Founding Session
2. The General Conference Session in Battle Creek, Michigan, held on May 20 and 21, 1863, marks the official incorporation of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. The following slides feature the Session venue, participants, the official constitution adopted, and the officers elected.
3. Second Meeting House
4. May 20-21, 1863 Date
5. Report in the Adventist Review
6. Session Officers Jotham Aldrich Chair Uriah Smith Secretary
7. Delegates: Michigan Joseph Bates John Byington Meritt Cornell
8. Delegates: Michigan James Harvey Moses Hull Russell Lawrence
9. Delegates: Michigan John Loughborough Joseph Waggoner
10. Delegates: Minnesota Washington Morse
11. Delegates: New York Jotham Aldrich John Andrews Nathan Fuller Charles Taylor
12. Delegates: Iowa William Brinkerhoff Benjamin Snook
13. Delegates: Wisconsin Isaac Sanborn
14. Elected General Conference Officers John Byington President Uriah Smith Secretary Eli Walker Secretary
15. General Conference Constitution adopted at the Session
16. Purpose of the General Conference as outlined in the Constitution •  Coordination for Mission (lTo secure unity and efficiency in laborz) •  Advancing of Mission (lPromote the general interests of the cause of present truthz) •  Improvement for Mission (lperfecting the organization of the Seventh-day Adventistsz)
17. Summary: What exactly happened on May 20-21, 1863? The 20 General Conference Session delegates adopted a constitution comprised of nine articles. The first article reads: lThis Conference shall be called the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists.z The following articles specify the General Conference`s purpose for existence. This marked the official establishment of the governing body of Seventh-day Adventists called the General Conference.