Tuesday, the very next day after the Swiss Conference closed, an even more important meeting opened in Basel: the Third European Council of Seventh-day Adventist Missions, September 15-29. W. C. White described the session as a miniature General Conference. It proved to be the most memorable and effective gathering of workers in the early years of the church in Europe. No other council compared with it in importance, for it set a mold upon the work for years to come. EGWE 66.1
Thirty-one representatives from Europe were present as official delegates, joining the three from America. The employees of the publishing house and a number of Swiss believers attended, as well. EGWE 66.2
The opening day dawned balmy and beautiful, and Mrs. White was up at five, writing. After breakfast she still had several hours before the opening meeting, so she took her first buggy ride since reaching Basel, crossing the Rhine into nearby Germany. She returned feeling refreshed. EGWE 66.3
At eleven, the delegates gathered in the publishing house chapel to begin their deliberations. Mrs. White sat quietly by as they selected their working committees and began to lay plans. The schedule shaped up quickly. The committee on the order of meetings, of which W. C. White was a member, the next morning reported a proposal that a Biblical institute be held in conjunction with the council. EGWE 66.4
J. G. Matteson was chosen to conduct the Bible class at nine each morning, and S. H. Lane, J. Erzberger, and A. C. Bourdeau were designated to teach the workers how to give Bible studies. A canvassers’ class at one-thirty and an English class at four-thirty rounded out the institute schedule. All this was in addition to the business sessions of the council and the devotional exercises slated for the early-morning meetings. No time was wasted; the delegates might be charged with intemperance, but not with indolence! Meetings began at five-thirty in the morning and lasted as late as nine at night. EGWE 67.1
In addition to her participation in the deliberations of the council, Mrs. White spoke at the early-morning prayer and testimony meeting each day. It was reported later that “the morning talks of Sister White were one of the specially interesting features of this annual convocation, and were the means of imparting much precious instruction concerning the practical work of those who were here convened.”—Historical Sketches of the Foreign Missions of the Seventh-day Adventists, 118. EGWE 67.2
She began her series of practical devotional talks Wednesday morning with an appeal for ministers to have an individual experience with God and to manifest love and forbearance for one another. A machine may be ever so perfect in its parts, she pointed out, but there would be friction and wear in its movements unless it was properly oiled: “So with us. It is necessary to have the oil of grace in our hearts, in order to prevent the friction that may arise between us and those for whom we labor.”—Ibid., 119. Before the council ended there would be a manifest need for this oil of grace, and there would be opportunity for it to be freely applied! EGWE 67.3