The 1909 General Conference Session

As in 1905, this General Conference session was held in a large tent pitched on the grounds of Washington Missionary College. The opening meeting convened at 10:45 A.M. Thursday, May 13. There were 328 delegates present, a number that swelled a little as the conference progressed. Words of greeting were spoken by George I. Butler, George Amadon, and other pioneer workers, and messages were read from some who could not attend. The afternoon meeting was given over to what was called “the European Division,” with Elder L. R. Conradi reporting.6BIO 192.5

On Thursday evening Elder A. G. Daniells gave his president's address, reviewing the work of the past four years and presenting the accomplishments of the seven General Conference departments. He projected a bright outlook for the future. As he reviewed the accomplishments of the reorganization of the General Conference, he pointed out that while in 1901 the Executive Committee consisted of thirteen members, there were now forty. In 1901 there were two union conferences, and now there were twenty-one “located in nearly all parts of the world.” He observed that “to the committees in charge of these union conferences have been transferred countless details of administration which previously came to the General Conference Committee.” He closed his observations on these lines by stating:6BIO 193.1

Thus the reorganization that has been effected since the conference of 1901 has drawn into the administrative circle more than five hundred persons who were not there before, and the results show that this change has greatly increased the efficiency of the management of the work.—The General Conference Bulletin, 1909, 8.6BIO 193.2

The session itself was quite routine, with a great deal of the time given over to reports of the progress of the cause around the world. A portion of each day was devoted to individual meetings of the various departments and to the business of the quadrennial meeting.6BIO 193.3

Sabbath morning at eleven o'clock Ellen White addressed the session in the big tent. The Bulletin reported that it “was a day long to be remembered” as the “aged servant of God” stood in that large tent speaking to an audience of well over a thousand people. She seemed to “lay upon those assembled representatives of the third angel's message the importance of rightly representing Christ to the world in our speech, in our character, in all our dealing with our fellow men, in order that we shall not be found fruitless in the great day of harvest” (p. 28).6BIO 193.4

How did the voice of this little woman of 81 come through to the audience? Those who were there reported that they all heard her clearly and distinctly. One curious young minister, A. V. Olson, attending his first General Conference session, eager to find out for himself, sat near the front, where he heard her well. Then he went to the back of the tent, where he heard equally well. He went outside the tent and even there her voice came through in clear tones. She did not shout. She had no public-address system, but with a steady, low voice supported by her abdominal muscles, she spoke as she had been instructed by God (see Evangelism, 669). She made all hear, with no one straining to catch her words.6BIO 194.1