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Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers
White in 1895 wrote as recorded on page 363: “The righteousness
of Christ by faith has been ignored by some; for it is contrary to their
spirit, and their whole life experience.”
In this volume, from page 76 and onward, frequent reference
will be found to Minneapolis and its aftermath, and to the experience
of some who were involved
.
At the session of 1888, the General Conference Committee was
materially changed. O. A. Olsen was called from Europe to take the
presidency of the General Conference, replacing George I. Butler.
Elder Butler was ill, and, although not present at the Minneapolis
Conference session, had placed himself with those on the negative
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side of the issue. He went into a period of retirement and cared for
his invalid wife for ten years or more, then made a good comeback
and again occupied positions of responsibility in the denomination
.
Elder Olsen, a man in full sympathy with the emphasis placed on
the truth of righteousness by faith, and one who was ever loyal to the
spirit of prophecy counsels, found it difficult to meet certain of the
problems at Battle Creek. Particularly hard were problems arising
from the rapid development of institutions and the enlargement of
the work in Battle Creek to the detriment of the work elsewhere
.
Consolidation and Its Attendant Problems
At the General Conference session of 1889, consideration was
given to problems arising from the operation of two large publishing
houses, one in Battle Creek and the other on the Pacific Coast. A
committee of twenty-one was appointed to give study to the consoli-
dation of the denomination’s publishing interests. The action also
called for consideration of a similar organization “for the purpose
of controlling all our educational interests and owning the property,
thus bringing them under one general management; also, another to
control our health institutions.”—
The General Conference Bulletin,
Nov. 6, 1889, 149
. This committee brought its report to the session
of 1891. The proposal made was that the General Conference Asso-
ciation, as the corporation formed to represent the legal interests of
the church, should take over all the publishing interests and operate
the publishing houses from one headquarters. It was recognized that
with the larger interests to be placed in the hands of this legal asso-
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