Church conference

“ The Monday prayer-meeting, the afternoon exhortation; the evening conference of the Baptists, the Methodists, the Presbyterians, or the Congregationalists, are not what is wanted; nor is it a cold and barn-like edifice which makes one feel, if one goes to call upon God, as though He were out, and could only be seen at stated times, and by the will of the sexton and the trustees.
A people's church is wanted, where the people can come and go as they please ”

“ The address led to elucidate and prove the saying of the ancient prophets respecting the gathering of the saints, and by what means. Conference adjourned.
Met again at 11 o'clock, on the 18th; prayer by elder James Blakesley, after which Eber Blakesly and Benjamin Gwright were ordained Elders. The President then addressed the conference from 20th chap. 28-29th ver. of Acts: "Take heed therefore unto yourselves and to all the flock over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God which he hath purchased with his own blood. ”

“ The only safety of the Church is the equipoise that is constituted by the relation the Annual Conferences sustain to the General Conference, and far safer is it for us to bring these women of the Church, elect, honorable women, into the General Conference of the Church by the same way that their husbands and brothers are here. ”

“ We hope, knowing that great things await us in this generation; we have faith because the promises of God are sure, and we pray for the faithful laborers in the Lord's vineyard: they send us good tidings and we glory with them at the prospect before us.
"The twelve" have been blest: at their conference in Freedom, N. Y. May 22, they "Resolved that the limits of that conference should extend from Lodi, so far east as to include the branch of the church in Avon; south to the Pennsylvania line, and north to lake Ontario—to be called Freedom Conference." ”

“ There is another aspect of usefulness in which I must present the Church Congress, so as to do full justice to the subject. I have spoken of the value of the debates in relation to the topics discussed. There is, however, an antecedent advantage in the debating itself, apart from the questions raised. Ever since our Church has awakened to new life, a strong and reasonable desire has grown up, both among laymen and clergy, for opportunities of regular conference, of which the placid Englishman of George III.'s days could not have realised the slightest idea. ”

“ Since the close of the protracted meeting, each Sabbath-school class has had its own weekly prayer meeting—a means of great good. Also a general young Christians' prayer meeting has been held weekly. In it effort has been made, not only to lead these new converts to take part in prayer and conference, but to instruct them upon some points too often neglected. Those who on this day united with the church could each, I think, give an intelligent statement of reasons why they should unite with the church ”

“ In our assemblies at Conference the representatives of the people from the various parts of the Territory meet together to be informed in relation to any and all measures that may be determined upon for the furtherance of our interests as a people, and the interests of the Church and kingdom of God upon the earth; for the Church and kingdom of God is established upon the earth, and God has communicated unto us his will, and, by revelation, has instructed us how to organize the various orders of the Priesthood as they have been presented before you to-day. ”

“ On the first day of June, 1830, the first conference was held by the Church. Our number consisted of about thirty, besides many others who came to learn of our principles, or were already believers, but had not been baptized. Having opened the meeting by singing and prayer, we partook of the emblems of the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. A number were confirmed who had lately been baptized, and several were called and ordained to various offices in the Priesthood. Much good instruction was given, and the Holy Ghost was poured out upon us in a marvelous manner. ”

“ The more completely constituted the Church is, the more abundant in good works, the more steadfast in the Faith, the more eager and successful in the salvation of souls, the more will it crave for, and the better will it use, occasions of mutual counsel more free and unconventional than Synod or ranged Conference can provide. ”

“ Our Conference is a most important one, one that doubtless will be long remembered by those who have participated in its deliberations and actions. It is not often that we, as a people, have been called upon to pass through such circumstances as those which have surrounded us for the past four or five weeks. ”

“ Let us see how it would look in cold type had they said, “The General Conference holds that in all matters connected with the election of lay delegates the word laymen must be understood to include all the members of the Annual Conferences, and who are not women.” We would have become the laughing-stock of Christendom had we made such an utterance. The Church universal in all ages has always divided its membership into two great classes, and two only, the clergy and the laymen, using the terms laity and laymen synonymously and interchangeably. ”

“ Are we ready to send that question in that form down to the Annual Conferences for their action? I trust that a large majority of this General Conference will say with emphasis we are not ready for any such action. The women of our Methodism have a place in the heart of the Church from which they cannot be dislodged. They are our chief working members. They are at the very front of every great movement of the Church at home or abroad. ”

“ The chief subjects of discussion were: the relations of faith and modern thought, the supply and training of the clergy, education, foreign missions, revision and “enrichment” of the Prayer-Book, the relation of the Church to “ministries of healing” (Christian Science, &c.) , the questions of marriage and divorce, organization of the Anglican Church, reunion with other Churches. The results of the deliberations were embodied in seventy-eight resolutions, which were appended to the encyclical issued, in the name of the conference, by the Archbishop of Canterbury on the 8th of August. ”

“ And such a person or persons should be men whose duty it shall be to stay until the Conference is over, attending every meeting, and paying the strictest attention to all instructions given and to all Church business transacted. ”

“ Bishops Roberts and George, called on them during the time of the Conference, in order to advise them to wait until the meeting of their General Conference, and see what they would do towards organizing our church according to the views of the New-York annual Conference of our white brethren the last year, and urged their advice by mentioning that as the door of the old connexion would be shut against the Stilwellites, so it would be shut against our people also, if they should conclude to get their ordination from that source. ”

“ Furthermore, Deeply grieved by the sad divisions which affect the Christian Church in our own land, we hereby declare our desire and readiness, so soon as there shall be any authorized response to this Declaration, to enter into brotherly conference with all or any Christian Bodies seeking the restoration of the organic unity of the Church, with a view to the earnest study of the conditions under which so priceless a blessing might happily be brought to pass. ”

“ He has seen the great benevolent boards of the Church and nearly all our connectional institutions come up from the smallest beginnings, and has never failed to espouse the cause of these important agencies for the promotion of Christ’s kingdom. Even the conference in which he began his ministry has grown in his day from a handful [6] to a host, and no man has watched its growth with deeper pride or more anxious concern than himself. ”

“ I rejoice to meet here in this Conference with my brethren and sisters, and I esteem it as a great privilege. I have been associated with this Church ever since the year 1833, and I have been looking over the Quorum of the Twelve, to-day, and reflecting that in our first acquaintance, we were mere boys together, while now, most of us are beginning to have gray locks. The time is passing rapidly along, and the purposes of the Lord are fast hastening forward. If we will do our duty I know that God will sustain us and bring us off conquerors ”

“ The benefits to the Church and to the world, which come from the Book of Mormon and the revelations to Joseph Smith, were also considered, and the expression of the conference was to the effect that the infinite wisdom of the Lord, in granting for their salvation and the salvation of the world, these sacred things, should be fully appreciated. ”

“ At this Conference every presiding officer, Bishop, Elder, Priest, Teacher, Deacon, and member of the Church has got a text to preach from in his future ministrations; to bring this people to a oneness in all things is, henceforth, the object of our labors. We are already united on many points; for instance, we are one here to-day in partaking of the Sacrament in remembrance of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. But there are other things that require our attention. We should be one in all our movements in sustaining ourselves. ”

“ Our conference and Church duly appreciate every mark of good feeling and regard of sister denominations towards us, and admire the spirit which prompts it, which says, 'We are brethren,' 'We are one.' We are glad to note that the sharp corners of denominational antagonism are wearing away, that the watchmen are seeing eye to eye, that Christians can labor side by side in the common cause and in the same altars, and meet at the same communion, and each rejoice in the other's success. ”

“ The benefits arising from conference have increasingly been valued since the revival of convocation. Appreciation of the importance of lay support and counsel has led to the institution of two voluntary elective assemblies called Houses of Laymen, one for each province, and in 1905 an association of the four houses of convocation and the two lay assemblies was formed with the name of the Representative Church Council. During the last forty years diocesan conferences, in which the laity are represented, have become universal, while ruridecanal and other meetings of a like kind are general. ”

“ In general church arrangements and working they assimilate to the old body in everything, except in the constitution of their Conference, in which there is a considerable difference. The Conference proper of Wesleyanism is composed entirely of ministers, but preceded by “General Committees,” where the laity are admitted. In the Primitive Methodist Connexion, the Conference itself is composed of both ministers and laymen, and the latter are in the proportion of two to one of the former. ”

“ I feel very thankful to the Lord our God that I still have a name and a place among his people, that I am permitted to meet with them in General Conference, to speak of the goodness of our Father in heaven, and to join in worship with the general assembly of the Church of God. We are favored, truly, with fine weather ”

“ It can be broken up into just seven groups of ten members; with each group would be a president; these groups can be sub-divided into five pairs, who could scatter out into various neighborhoods, occasionally meet in conference with the group of ten to which the respective pairs belonged, and at greater intervals, the several groups could be called together for quorum conference. Thus a quorum of Seventy can be a veritable flying column, making proclamation of the Gospel, the like of which is to be found nowhere outside the Church of Christ. ”

“ During the ministering at this place, eleven were added to the church. They held a conference at Loborough, Upper Canada, the 29th of June; the branch of the church there consists of 25 members in good standing, but much in want of the pure knowledge and doctrine of the kingdom: they think, with us, that the Messenger and Advocate is of great consequence, in giving the saints strength to maintain the cause of the Lord. Elders Henry and Jacob Wood, who had been suspended for some time, were excluded, and the church lifted their hands against them. ”

“ The rulings of the district conferences are "the decrees for to keep," especially in every case where they are based on the great fundamental doctrines of the Bible. Some of these measures are taken to meet certain critical issues in the Church and apply only to the particular time for which they are provided.
The conference rulings appearing at stated times within a generation represent the history-making periods in the Church, while the wording is so framed that through successive generations one is not supposed to conflict with or contradict the other. ”

“ At times he has been called to fill the chair of Presiding Elder, and also to represent his Conference in the General Conference. His fidelity to the sacred claims and obligations of the gospel ministry has only been equaled by his loyalty to the Church of his choice and his fidelity to her distinctive peculiarities. He was 422always a man of one work, and never concerned himself particularly about the civil and political affairs of the country. ”

“ It is a great pleasure to meet with the brethren again in Conference, and it is certainly very gratifying to see the people so comfortably seated, with a prospect of enjoying the benefits and blessings of the Conference; even should the elements not be favorable we have a shelter and a shade. ”