The 1888 General Conference Session Season 2 | Episode 32
The movement had focused on Christ from the beginning.
The early Advent believers asked the question, 'When is Jesus coming?'
However, after the Great Disappointment of 1844
they then moved on to ask the question, 'What is He doing?'
By the early 1880s, though,
the church had lost sight of Christ
and had failed to make Him the centre of its doctrines.
A spirit of debating had settled in,
and they were winning people over to the church
more through debating and a theoretical assent to knowledge,
rather than by emphasizing heart change.
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The 1888 General Conference Session
is the most famous GC Session in our history,
but unfortunately it's remembered for negative reasons,
with the questions often being framed, 'What if...?'
It was held here in Minneapolis, Minnesota,
from October the 17th to November the 4th,
and it was the 27th session held.
It was held in the newly-constructed Adventist Church
that was located on the northwest corner of the intersection behind me.
At the time, world membership was 27,000
and there were 90 delegates present; small by today's standards.
Mission work in the South Pacific, city evangelism,
amongst other ordinary matters were discussed,
but no one remembers these.
Ellen White later commented,
'I have been instructed by God
that the terrible experience at the Minneapolis Conference
is one of the saddest chapters
in the history of the believers in present truth.'
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Prior to the GC session, the theological tension had been building,
with articles being published by both sides--
something that Ellen White spoke very strongly against.
Also, at the various campmeetings different presentations were given
and a spirit of opposition, debate, and bitterness was aroused.
However, this would come to a head here in Minneapolis.
The principal characters at this GC session
were A. T. Jones and E. J. Waggoner, both in their 30s,
and Uriah Smith and G. I. Butler, both in their 50s.
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As the two younger men presented their messages of righteousness by faith,
they were met with opposition.
They were presenting on the importance
of the centrality of the cross and of Christ's righteousness
and the importance of seeing the law in its correct context.
However, one of the arguments that they used to show this
was that the law in Galatians 3 was the ceremonial law and not the moral law.
This was met with stiff opposition,
as some thought that the teaching of the Sabbath was under threat
and would lead to misinterpretation
and misunderstanding from other denominations.
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They were invited to debate,
and although this practice was common at the time, they refused to.
They hadn't come to do that.
A rebuttal presentation was made,
but their only response at the next session
was to read Bible passages in turn on the love of God;
no explanation given, just the Bible read.
The impact was profound.
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Many were impacted by the messages,
with S. N. Haskell and J. O. Corliss being two of them.
The following year,
revivals would take place all over the United States of America,
with Ellen White, Jones, and Waggoner leading out;
one of which took place in South Lancaster Massachusetts.
Commenting later on, Ellen White said,
'I have never seen a revival go forward which such thoroughness
and yet remain so free of undue excitement.'
A few years later, Uriah Smith would apologize to Ellen White
for how he had responded
and would also make a public apology
in the Dime Tabernacle in Battle Creek,
not an easy thing to do.
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One of the sad outcomes of 1888
is that the principal presenters of Jones and Waggoner
would eventually end up apostatising and leaving the church.
The reasons for this are many,
and cannot be adequately explained in a few minutes.
Some of the responsibility rests with them
for not letting the message completely change their own hearts,
yet some blame must be apportioned to the brethren
who so strongly and bitterly opposed them.
This opposition would become a difficult
and overmastering temptation to the young messengers,
and whilst this does not excuse their departure,
it does give us some understanding.
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A key lesson that we didn't learn in 1888
and that we still struggle with today
is how to be a Christian whilst in conflict with someone else.
How do you show Christ-like love
when the person that you're discussing or debating with
has a vastly different viewpoint to you and/or may be treating you wrongly?
May we learn to be gracious with those we disagree with
in the conflicts that we have today.
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The church would move on over time and realize the issue that was debated
wasn't of the magnitude that people thought it was at the time.
So often we major in minors.
Ellen White would say many times
that the law in Galatians wasn't a major issue,
and that the church shouldn't make it so.
Today it's easy to get sidetracked on other issues
and miss the bigger picture.
Jones and Waggoner were some great preachers,
some of the brightest minds that our church has seen,
and yet ultimately they lost sight of Jesus.
Today we need to be careful that we don't follow men
but that we follow God's Word and the message that is contained there.
It wasn't the message that was at fault,
but it was the attitude and spirit of those involved on both sides.
The message that they gave will need to be given again
and God will raise up other people who will overcome where they failed.
May we be part of sharing the beautiful message
of the love of God and the righteousness of Christ to the world.