1888 Minneapolis General Conference

The 1888 Minneapolis General Conference Session was a meeting of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists held in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1888. It is regarded as a landmark event in the history of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Key participants were Alonzo T. Jones, Ellet J. Waggoner and Ellen G. White, who were pitted against G. I. Butler, Uriah Smith and others. The session discussed crucial theological issues such as the meaning of "righteousness by faith", and the relationship between law and grace.

Introduction

The Seventh-day Adventist Church General Conference Session of 1888 held in Minneapolis, Minnesota is without question one of the most enigmatic events in the history of the denomination. It has received a wide gamut of attention from church historians, theologians, and laypersons, each with their own perspective and interpretation of the specific events, the message presented there, and the ensuing reactions. The conference can not be evaluated without an examination of the circumstances leading up to that historic meeting. The “joint Minneapolis Institute and General Conference, of 1888, involved vastly more than appeared on the surface. It was the culmination of a whole series of developments that led up to it.” [LeRoy Edwin Froom. "Movement of Destiny". Washington DC: Review and Herald, 1971; p. 239.]

Foundational Experience

The founding fathers of the Seventh-day Adventist Church believed that they had experienced a genuine, personal encounter with the Lord Jesus Christ. Those who had come through the Millerite Movement had first-hand knowledge of disappointment, discouragement, and profound faith in Christ and the veracity of the Holy Scriptures. As the truths of Scripture were unfolded to them concerning end time prophecy, the sanctuary types and their fulfillment, and the perpetuity of law of God they saw the necessity for organization as a means for proclaiming these truths to the world. The denomination was formally organized on May 23, 1863 in Battle Creek, Michigan.

The men and women who were a part of the development of this denomination came from various religious backgrounds bringing with them into the new movement some beliefs peculiar to their former associations. Two significant hold-over theological views were semi-Pelagianism and semi-Arianism. [Erwin Roy Gane. “The Arian or Anti-Trinitarian Views Presented in Seventh-day Adventist Literature and the Ellen G. White Answer,” 1963. Masters thesis on file at James White Library, Andrews University, Berrien Springs, Michigan.] The focus of the early Seventh-day Adventist church tended more toward denominational organization and development, emphasis on obedience to the Ten Commandments, and efforts at evangelism and church growth during the anguish of the American Civil War and its aftermath. Refining of specific theological points awaited later discussion.

“There was nothing wrong with such material progress. . . .It was right and proper that institutes be established, that the work spread into new regions and churches everywhere be raised up. But ministers and laity alike mistook this growth for the true end and purpose of the Advent movement — a spiritual preparation for the return of Christ. Confusion resulted, and self-esteem and complacency began to surface in the weekly reports of ‘the advance of the cause’ as published in the Review.” [Robert J. Wieland and Donald K. Short. "1888 Re-Examined". Uniontown, Ohio: The 1888 Message Study Committee, 1987; p. 10.]

For a fuller discussion on the founding of the church, see History of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

ources of the Developing Conflict

By the second generation of the movement, the denomination had become well established across the United States, and mission fields around the world. As the church grew so did opposition (and in some places, persecution), particularly regarding the seventh-day Sabbath. Emphasis on the Ten Commandments as a part of total obedience to God was a firmly established and vigorously defended tenet of the denomination by the 1870s. Sunday-keeping Christians claimed that keeping the seventh-day Sabbath was a sign of legalism or judaizing. Convinced of the Biblical correctness of the seventh-day Sabbath, Seventh-day Adventists turned to their Bibles to sustain their position prompting the moniker “People of the Book” to be applied to them.

Defending Sabbath Observance

Intent upon maintaining their justification for Sabbath-keeping, ministers and laypersons alike developed expertise in debating this particular issue from Scripture. However, relying on a proof-text method to sustain their position unwittingly strengthened the opposition’s confidence that Seventh-day Adventists were indeed legalists who held strictly to the “letter of the law.” All the work involved in developing and extending the denomination seemed to force attention upon what the individual could accomplish, opening the door to self-reliance in spiritual matters as well. The sufficiency of the Cross was displaced by man’s efforts. [R. W. Schwarz. "Light Bearers to the Remnant". Boise, Idaho: Pacific Press, 1979; p. 184.]

“Powerful arguments were developed to establish [the law’s] ‘binding obligations.’ Debaters and polemicists emerged, stressing the Sabbath, the Law, etc. — like lawyers arguing a case. Spirituality waned, and not a few became decided legalists. . . . Cold intellectualism and dry theory increased. Christ often became secondary, and Righteousness by Faith largely lost sight of, through outward profession without inner experience. The majesty of the message and the law was magnified. But something was lacking. Discussions were logical and convincing, but not Christ centered.” [Froom. Ibid.]

Arianism and the Atonement

A second issue that paved the way for the heated discussions at Minneapolis was the semi-Arian view on the divinity of Christ. This was not an openly discussed theological perspective, but was a view firmly held by certain prominent individuals. [Firmly eschewing the idea of a creed, the denomination made no attempt at developing a systematic declaration of fundamental beliefs until 1872. A declaration of the nature of the Godhead and Christ as the fully divine Son of God did not appear in public literature until after the epochal session in 1888. After the 1888 Minneapolis General Conference, additions on these subjects were made to the "Bible Readings for the Home Circle", published by the Pacific Press.] Uriah Smith (1832-1903), long-time editor of the "Review and Herald" (now "Adventist Review"), the official organ of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, had expounded this position in his discourse on the Book of Revelation first published in 1865. Commenting on Revelation 1:4, Smith sets forth the straight Arian position by claiming that the language of the verse was “applicable only to God the Father,” and “is never applied to Christ.” [Uriah Smith. "Thoughts on the Revelation". Battle Creek, Michigan: Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association, 3rd edition, 1885; p. 16.]

Another Adventist pioneer who held to the Arian view was "Joseph H. Waggoner" (1820-1889), "Ellet J. Waggoner"’s father. J.H. Waggoner was an early convert to the Advent movement, serving on the committee called in 1860 to form the legal organization of the denomination. In 1881 Joseph H. Waggoner succeeded James White as editor of the Pacific coast evangelistic magazine, "Signs of the Times". Through his several books on the atonement, the elder Waggoner taught that Christ was only God in “a subordinate sense,” and thus not fully divine. His main point of dispute was the Trinitarian concept of three divine persons (God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit). In his expanded volume on the atonement, [Elder J. H. Waggoner. "The Atonement; An Examination of a Remedial System in the Light of Nature and Revelation". Oakland, Calif.: Pacific Press, 1884; pp. 146-199.] J.H. Waggoner devoted two chapters in his attempt to prove that the Trinitarian view was false because it inferred that Christ, being God, could not have died on the cross of Calvary, and thus full atonement for sin could not have been made.

Ellet J. Waggoner’s Conversion

In 1886 the elder Waggoner was commissioned to aid in the expansion of the Adventist message in Europe, leaving behind his son, Ellet, to continue the work of editor at the "Signs of the Times" office. Four years previous while attending a camp meeting at Healdsburg, California, Ellet had experienced a profound spiritual impression that Christ was the only means of man’s salvation. He saw that Christ in “all the fullness of the Godhead” had died for him personally to save him from his sin. Young Waggoner’s conviction of the nature of Christ now ran directly contrary to that of his father. Christ’s divinity and His humanity were essential elements of the atonement.

As a result of this epiphany, Ellet J. Waggoner declared that he would devote the rest of his life to proclaiming the Biblical truth of Christ and His righteousness. He immediately began intensive exegetical studies of the Bible, especially Paul’s letters to the Romans and Galatians. From his studies, he composed articles for the "Signs of the Times" that elucidated the truth of Christ and His righteousness as the complete Saviour of the world. When he wrote that the law spoken of by Paul in Galatians chapter three was the moral law, he expounded a view that was contrary to the historically held position. This opened the door for a series of editorial rebuttals from the editor of the "Review and Herald", Uriah Smith, who was supported theologically by the denominational president, George I. Butler (1834-1918).

Open Confrontation

E.J. Waggoner was selected as a delegate from California to attend the 1886 General Conference session held that year at Battle Creek, Michigan. When he arrived he found that Butler strongly opposed his emphasis on Christ as the sole source of righteousness, especially in light of Waggoner’s teaching on the law in Galatians. Butler was so intent upon countering the young Waggoner’s position that he prepared a small booklet titled “The Law in the Book of Galatians” that was handed out to all the delegates at that conference.(Read a [http://www.gospel-herald.com/two_books_on_galatians.htm PDF of this document online] ) In this document, Butler defended the position that the law in Galatians was the ceremonial law. Butler feared that if the moral law was here meant by Paul, then the antinomian Christians who opposed Sabbath-keeping would find solid reason for their claim that the moral law (especially the fourth commandment [Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it.] ) was “nailed to the cross” and therefore was “no longer binding” on New Testament Christians. [Eld. G. I. Butler. "The Law in the Book of Galatians: Is It the Moral Law, or does it refer to that System of Laws Peculiarly Jewish?" Review and Herald: Battle Creek, Mich., 1886; p. 7.]

“The Westerners had reverted to the early Seventh-day Adventist position that the law Paul here referred to as the ‘schoolmaster to bring us to Christ’ (verse 24) was the whole body of the moral law including the Ten Commandments. This position the Adventists had almost entirely abandoned during the 1860s and 1870s; the ‘schoolmaster’ was reinterpreted to mean the ceremonial and sacrificial laws of Moses which pointed forward to the Messiah. This reinterpretation had developed largely as a reaction to Protestant clergymen who interpreted Paul’s statement in Galatians 3:25 (‘we are no longer under the schoolmaster’) to mean that the Ten Commandment law had been abrogated; thus, the seventh-day Sabbath was no longer viable.” [Schwarz, p. 185.]

ummary of the Forerunning Conflict

Thus we find these two main points of contention facing the delegates at Minneapolis: the law in Galatians, and the semi-Arian view of the Godhead and its effect on the doctrine of the atonement. Prior to the 1888 Minneapolis conference a third topic of contention developed between Uriah Smith and A.T. Jones. Jones was an avid student of history, especially as it applied to the prophecies of the Bible. He had discovered that the Alemanni and not the Huns were one of the ten horns (tribes or nations) described prophetically in Daniel 7. Smith took grave exception to this new view, relying on the traditional position of the Millerites to support his position.

“Jones was accordingly regarded by some as the fosterer of a new historical ‘heresy,’ while Waggoner was thought to be projecting a doctrinal deviation — which departures would have to be settled at the Minneapolis Meeting.” [Froom, p. 241.] Both of the young men from the west coast were classified as “troublemakers” long before the 1888 Minneapolis General Conference session was formally convened. Preconceived opinions and strong prejudice were firmly entrenched due to the previous two years’ contentions between Waggoner and Butler, and Jones and Smith.

eason of Debate

Ministerial Bible Institute

Prior to the actual General Conference session, a Bible Institute was convened beginning on Wednesday Oct. 10, 1888. The General Conference session began on Oct. 18 and ran through more than two full weeks, ending on Sunday Nov. 4, 1888. It was during the Bible Institute that A.T. Jones delivered his evidence supporting the idea that the Alemanni were one of the ten horns of prophecy that succeeded the crumbling Roman Empire.

“Jones had done his homework well. No one was able effectively to dispute the historical evidence he cited in favor of the Alemanni’s right to supplant the Huns as one of the kingdoms succeeding Rome. Uriah Smith, Adventism’s most noted prophetic expositor, was placed on the defensive. On one occasion he modestly disclaimed originality for the list of kingdoms he had given in "Thoughts on Daniel". Smith admitted having simply followed Millerite and earlier interpreters on this point.” [Schwarz, p. 187.] Such strong lines were drawn regarding this subject that during the ensuing weeks of the conference when men would pass each other in the halls, they inquired of each other whether they were “Huns” or “Alemanni.”

“Thus did a dispute over a minor point set the pot of controversy boiling before the really significant theological presentation began.” [Schwarz, p. 188.] “Many had come to the Conference expecting a clash, and so were not disappointed. Such entered it in a fighting spirit, and a definite split developed. The gulf was wide and deep.” [Froom, p. 245.]

General Conference Session

When E.J. Waggoner arrived at the Conference he found that those opposed to him were already on the march. A blackboard had been placed on the speaker’s platform with two opposing views on the law in Galatians written upon it. J.H. Morrison had affixed his signature under the statement: “Resolved — That the Law in Galatians Is the Ceremonial Law.” Morrison, Smith, Butler, Frank Starr and others firmly supported this first proposition. Waggoner was invited to place his signature under the opposing proposition: “Resolved — That the Law in Galatians Is the Moral Law.” Waggoner declined, saying that he had not come to the meetings to debate, but to present truth as it is found in Scripture.

Under these bellicose conditions, Waggoner began to present what he had discovered from the Bible on the subject of Christ and His righteousness. “The preaching of the younger men (Waggoner was 33, Jones was 38) was trying to the older leaders. Their vigorous preaching somehow seemed to have a note of authority that was resented.” [Froom, p. 246.] Supported in their resistance by letters of encouragement from G.I. Butler to “stand by the old landmarks” these older men resisted what was being presented. [A prostrating fever of some variety (some historians claim it was malaria, others report that it was typhoid) and nervous exhaustion prevented Butler from attending the 1888 General Conference. But from his sickbed, he was in constant communication with his chief cohorts, Uriah Smith and J.H. Morrison, who were at the conference. His decided position was “stand by the old landmarks” on the traditional view on the prophecy of Daniel, and on the law in Galatians.]

J. H. Morrison was selected to offer the rebuttal to Waggoner’s presentations. He spoke sincerely and earnestly expressing the fear that Waggoner’s view, if adopted, would direct attention away from the Adventist position of explicit obedience to all the commandments of God. When it was again Waggoner’s turn at the pulpit, he and A.T. Jones offered a unique reply. Standing before the assembly they opened their Bibles and without personal comment alternately read sixteen passages bearing on the subject at hand. [Waggoner opened the rejoinder by reading Jer. 23:5-7; Jones followed reading Eph. 2:4-8. Continuing to alternate, they went through the following verses — Waggoner: Gal. 2:16-21, Rom. 1:14-17, Gal 3 (entire chapter), Gal. 5:16, Gal. 2 (entire), Rom. 5 (entire), Rom. 8:14-39. Jones’s verses were: Rom. 11:1-33, Rom. 2:13-29, Rom. 3 (entire), Rom. 9:7-33, Rom. 4:1-11, Rom. 1:15-17, 1 John 5:14.]

Most Precious Message

The claim was that Waggoner’s “new light” was nothing more than what Adventists had always presented on justification by faith, which was theoretically true, though not experientially true. Placing righteousness by faith squarely on the foundation of Christ and His righteousness, and Christ’s work as our High Priest during the antitypical Day of Atonement brought a fresh perspective to the bone-dry doctrine as it had previously been preached from Adventist pulpits.

Refutation of Arianism

Waggoner centered his logical proof on the fact that Christ possesses “all the fullness of the Godhead” being “by nature the very substance of God, and having life in Himself, He is properly called Jehovah, the self-existent One.” [E.J. Waggoner. "Christ and His Righteousness". Melbourne, Aust.: Echo Publishing, 1892; p. 23.] This is a truth no Arian would ever admit. Waggoner’s entire discussion on Christ and His righteousness was founded on this truth. It is the power behind the everlasting covenant promise God made to fallen Adam in the Garden of Eden (Gen. 3:15) that through Emmanuel, Christ with us, He would “save His people from their sin” (Matt. 1:21).

“Think of it; God swore by Himself! That is, He pledged Himself, and His own existence, to our salvation in Jesus Christ. He put Himself in pawn. His life for ours, if we are lost while trusting Him. His honour is at stake.” [Waggoner. "Present Truth" article “The Call of Abraham, The Oath and the Promise,” July 9, 1896. Found also in "The Everlasting Covenant — God’s Promises to Us". Berrien Springs, Mich.: Glad Tidings Publishers, 2002; pp. 87-88.]

Such an expanded concept on the length and breadth of the atonement had never been heard before from any pulpit. It was declared to be “a most precious message,” a message that “was to bring more prominently before the world the uplifted Saviour, the sacrifice for the sins of the whole world. It presented justification through faith in the Surety; it invited the people to receive the righteousness of Christ, which is made manifest in obedience to all the commandments of God." [Ellen G. White. "Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers". Mountain View, Calif.: Pacific Press, 1962; pp. 91-92.]

Foundation for Righteousness by Faith

Far from promoting antinomian sentiments, Waggoner’s message presented Christ in all His glory as the Saviour of all mankind. When properly understood through a heart appreciation of what it cost the Godhead to redeem fallen man from sin, this truth results in a heart surrender to the will of God, producing faithful obedience to all the commandments of God.

“‘Do you mean to teach universal salvation?’ someone may ask. We mean to teach just what the Word of God teaches — that the ‘grace of God hath appeared, bringing salvation to all men.’ Titus 2:11. God has wrought out salvation for every man, and has given it to him;’ but the majority spurn it and throw it away. The judgment will reveal the fact that full salvation was given to every man and that the lost have deliberately thrown away their birthright possession.” [Waggoner. "The Glad Tidings — Galatians Made Clear". Paris, Ohio: Glad Tidings Publishers, 1972; p. 13-14.]

This was the unconditional good news of Christ and His righteousness presented by E.J. Waggoner and A.T. Jones at the 1888 Minneapolis General Conference. Due to the conflict, Jones and Waggoner’s presentations were coolly received or outrightly rejected by many of the leaders of the denomination. Even so, these two men were invited to preach at subsequent camp meetings, worker’s meetings, and ministerial institutes over the next several years. E.J. Waggoner wrote extensively on the subject of Christ and His righteousness, developing the stenographic notes made by his wife during the 1888 conference into a book with that title. A.T. Jones would be a principle speaker at the next several General Conference sessions, and would write an exposition on the work of Christ as our High Priest relating to the perfection of Christian character titled "Consecrated Way to Christian Perfection" (1901).

References

Bibliography

* Daniells, Arthur G. "Christ Our Righteousness" (Takoma Park, Maryland: Ministerial Association of Seventh-day Adventists, 1941).
* Ellen G. White Estate, compilers. "Manuscripts and Memories of Minneapolis" (Boise, Idaho: Pacific Press, 1988).
* Froom, LeRoy Edwin. "Movement of Destiny" (Washington DC: Review and Herald, 1971).
* Knight, George. "A User-Friendly Guide to the 1888 Message" (Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald, 1998)
* Gresham, Joe. "1888 — The Message, The Mystery, and The Misconceptions" (np, nd).
* Olson, A.V. "1888-1901: 13 Crisis Years" (Washington DC: Review and Herald, 1981).
* Paxton, Geoffrey J. "The Shaking of Adventism" (Wilmington, Delaware: Zenith Publishers, 1977).
* Pease, Norval F. "By Faith Alone" (Mountain View, Calf.: Pacific Press, 1962).
* Schwarz, R. W. "Light Bearers to the Remnant" (Boise, Idaho: Pacific Press, 1979).
* Spalding, A.W. "Captains of the Host" (Washington DC: Review and Herald, 1949).
* cite book
last = Tarling
first = Lowell R.
authorlink =
title = The Edges of Seventh-day Adventism: A Study of Separatist Groups Emerging from the Seventh-day Adventist Church (1844–1980)
publisher = Galilee Publications
date = 1981
location = Barragga Bay, Bermagui South, NSW
isbn = 0 9593457 0 1
chapter = The General Conference Session – Minneapolis 1888
pages = 158–170
* Waggoner, E.J. "Christ and His Righteousness" (Melbourne, Aust.: Echo Publishing, 1892).
* ________. "The Everlasting Covenant: God’s Promises to Us" (Berrien Springs, Mich.: Glad Tidings Publishers, 2002).
* ________. "The Glad Tidings" (Paris, Ohio: Glad Tidings Publishers, 1972).
* ________. "Waggoner on Romans" (Paris, Ohio: Glad Tidings Publishers, 1995).
* Wieland, Robert J. and Donald K. Short. "1888 Re-Examined" (Uniontown, Ohio: The 1888 Message Study Committee, 1987).
* White, Ellen G. "The Ellen G. White 1888 Materials" (Washington DC: Ellen G. White Estate, 1987).
* ________. "Selected Messages", vol. 1 (Washington DC: Review and Herald, 1958).
* ________. "Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers" (Mountain View, Calif.: Pacific Press, 1962).

ee also

* History of the Seventh-day Adventist Church

External links

* [http://www.sdanet.org/atissue/books/wws/salv11.htm The Significance and Meaning of Minneapolis and 1888] , by Woodrow W. Whidden II.
* [http://www.1888mpm.org 1888 Most Precious Message, An Invitation from Christ] , by Daniel Peters
* [http://www.adventistarchives.org/documents.asp?CatID=4&SortBy=0&ShowDateOrder=True The Archives and Statistics Research Papers] section of the [http://www.adventistarchives.org/DocArchives.asp Adventist Archives] contains several papers dealing with this era of Adventist History.
* [http://www.sabbathpulpit.com/lessonsonfaithpodcast Audio Readings From A. T. Jones and E. J. Waggoner] , Sherman Haywood Cox II reads writings from Jones and Waggoner on this website.