Minnesota Conference

The Minnesota Conference is an administrative unit of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the Mid-America Union Conference.

Territory: Minnesota

Statistics (June 30, 2019): Churches, 76; membership, 10,513; population, 5,622,921.¹

Origins

The earliest evidence for the presence of a Sabbath-keeping Adventist in Minnesota dates to December 1854, when it was still a territory of the United States, four years prior to its admittance to the union. In a letter to the Review and Herald, seventeen-year-old Julia Grems from Dodge County in the southeastern part of the territory, wrote, “I am now living amid the wilds of the west, far from any of like precious faith.” Not only was she the only Sabbath-keeper in her home, she knew of no others among surrounding inhabitants.² In just over a year, though, the number of believers grew to five, including Julia’s father Nicholas³ and her older brother Enos, who reported in the Review that many others were “anxious to read the paper and pamphlets.”⁴

In May 1856, Joseph Bates shared Adventist publications with families in Iowa that were moving to Minnesota.⁵ Also in the spring of 1856, the first Sabbatarian Adventist ordained as a minister, forty-year-old Washington Morse and his wife Olive, arrived from Vermont where they had experienced the 1844 disappointment.⁶ The large family settled at Deerfield in Steele County, which adjoins Dodge County to the west. Morse performed Deerfield’s first wedding and first funeral.⁷ He was an ardent pioneer minister who later recalled, “I walked hundreds of miles in Minnesota, visiting the widely scattered settlements, carrying my Bible, chart, and tracts, endeavoring to awaken an interest in the truths of the third angel’s message. Quite a goodly number of worthy people embraced the truth.”⁸

The Grems’ next-door neighbor, Moses Porter,⁹ who accepted Adventist teachings about 1855, sent requests to the Review for the services of a minister in October 1856 and again in May 1857, offering lodging and use of a Mantorville school house as a meeting place.¹⁰ In August 1859, Elias Sanford, recently arrived in Dodge County from Illinois where his family was baptized by Joseph Bates,¹¹ sent another request for ministerial help, and suggested that an organizational conference be held, citing the group’s willingness to support a minister and the desire of several to be baptized.¹²

At the recommendation of James White, William S. Ingraham, who had been laboring in Wisconsin, went to Minnesota in response to these appeals.¹³ Ingraham, about 37, had attended the Methodist-affiliated Newbury Seminary in his home state of Vermont in 1841.¹⁴ Joining the Adventist ministry in 1852, his field of labor spanned the northeastern and mid-western United States, bringing significant church growth.¹⁵

For several weeks starting mid-October 1859, Ingraham met with groups in Deerfield, Mantorville, Medford, and Cleveland, fostering interest in Sabbath-keeping Adventism. Ingraham repeatedly had to counteract the influence of D. P. Hall, who was active in the same area. Hall was a former Sabbath-keeping Adventist who preached the “age-to-come” belief that the Second Advent would usher in a millennial kingdom with probation continuing.¹⁶ In the evening after the final Sabbath of Ingraham’s Minnesota tour, the believers in Deerfield and Mantorville joined at Elias Sanford’s home for a planning meeting at which they adopted the “systematic benevolence plan” for financial support of the cause. Though attendees were poor, they “all agreed to carry their faith into immediate action.”¹⁷

In the summer of 1860, twenty-four year old John Bostwick arrived from Wisconsin and joined Ingraham in Minnesota preaching tours, using a tent donated by the Wisconsin-Illinois Conference.¹⁸ “Successful meetings were held at St. Charles, High Forest, Mantorville, and Deerfield,” according to a brief history included in the minutes of early organizational meetings in Minnesota. “The most decided success was at Pleasant Grove, here a thriving band was raised up, the direct fruit of the H. Forest meeting.”¹⁹ An incident related by Washington Morse was one factor in the success:

In moving the tent to High Forest, Eld. Ingraham lost his Bible near Pleasant Grove. It was found by a lady, who, observing that it contained a great many marginal notes...and many texts underscored, became interested in its study. The...finder of the Bible, with several others, came quite a distance to attend our tent-meeting at High Forest, and about twenty in their vicinity became firm and consistent believers.²⁰

Also that summer a thirty-five-year-old Methodist minister, Harvey Lashier of Pleasant Grove, joined the Adventists.²¹ Lashier immediately labored as a minister, nurturing a group of eighteen new believers in Pleasant Grove, to which ten were added by baptism in the fall of 1860.²²

Better organization was needed, and the first state-wide meeting was held February 2-3, 1861 in Pleasant Grove.²³ Several believers trekked through the frigid Minnesota winter, including two who traveled one hundred miles, thirty of them on foot. The house of worship was packed. The assembly was disappointed that J. N. Andrews, then located eighty miles away in Waukon, Iowa, did not attend. But Andrews was striving to complete his in-depth study of the history of the Sabbath, and the conference proceeded under the leadership of Washington Morse, Lashier, and Bostwick, who had recently moved to Minnesota. Tent season plans were laid with Andrews requested to assist. Challenges were noted: “the cause in this State is young, and our numbers few and much scattered, and wherever there is a small church raised up D. P. Hall frequently makes his appearance...with the no-Sabbath heresy and the blighting influence of the Age-to-come theory.”²⁴

Within days of completing the 350-page manuscript for his book on the Sabbath in mid-June, Andrews was in Minnesota, joining Bostwick, who had started meetings in Oronoco.²⁵ On July 5 they progressed to Lake City, where they were joined by Lashier and W. M. Allen, who had recently come to Minnesota from Illinois.²⁶ From there, this ministry team moved on to conduct meetings in Deerfield and Cleveland.²⁷

Organizational History

Minnesota Adventists took important organizational steps at a conference held in Ashland on September 20-22, 1861, recorded as "the first meeting of the Seventh-day Adventist brethren of Minnesota as an organized body." With leadership from J. N. Andrews, Washington Morse, and Bostwick, the group voted to take the name “Seventh-day Adventist” that had been agreed upon at a general meeting of Adventists in Battle Creek, Michigan in 1860. They also agreed to “adopt organization, and gospel order in our churches, by subscribing our names to a church covenant, choosing church officers, etc.” – measures similar to some of those that would be taken two weeks later in Battle Creek at the organization of the Michigan Conference. During the following months the congregations meeting at Cleveland, Deerfield, Ashland, Oronoco, and Pleasant Grove were organized as churches under the supervision of Allen, Bostwick, and Morse. The advances in Minnesota were notable given that resistance to church organization continued to slow the process in some other locales.²⁸

Several factors, however, hindered evangelistic work the following summer. Four weeks of meetings begun in June in the evangelistic tent pitched at Rice Lake, Dodge County, with John Bostwick taking the lead, failed to gain a receptive audience.²⁹ With one minister, Elder Allen, “silent” and another, Elder Bostwick, “moving with some unsteadiness,” the ministerial work seemed to be languishing. Then, on August 17 the Dakota War of 1862 erupted in southern Minnesota, making further public meetings unsafe.³⁰. “In view of these things it was deemed as wisdom to go no farther with public labors.”³¹

On October 4, 1862, at the second annual organizational meeting held in Deerfield, the assembled believers voted “[t]hat the organized churches in the State shall constitute the Minnesota conference of Seventh-day Adventists.” A conference committee was chosen comprised of Washington Morse (chairman), Elias Sanford and, Ezra Odell (an 1861 tent meeting convert). Morse’s son, Ferdinand W., functioned as secretary.³²

Bostwick and Washington Morse acknowledged that “premature organization” had caused problems in Minnesota, but believed the October 1862 meeting had effected “a more thorough organization, with good success.” They had now “organized into a State Conference” but hoped for help from someone of experience to bring about “a more perfect organization” at next year’s conference.³³

However, F. W. Morse noted in the conference minutes that “the cause still languished; little or nothing was accomplished during the winter.”³⁴ C. G. Campbell reported a “shaking time with the church in Oronoco”, and Lashier reported Pleasant Grove's cause was “not as prosperous as we could desire.^”35

One blessing in late 1862 was the arrival of forty-one-year-old Harrison Grant, who settled at Deerfield, next door to Washington Morse. Grant had lived near Morse in Vermont and also experienced the 1844 disappointment. He had been active in the Vermont Conference, serving as treasurer of the conference tent fund.³⁶

Minnesota was one of six conferences represented at the organization of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists in May 1863. Minnesota’s delegate, Washington Morse, was actively involved, serving on a committee of eight to draft the General Conference constitution and by-laws, and on a committee of five appointed to draw up a constitution for state conferences.³⁷ Also at the 1863 conference, the new General Conference executive committee sent Isaac Sanborn as a “missionary” to Minnesota, with B. F. Snook assisting.³⁸

Upon arriving in Minnesota in July, before dealing with organizational matters, Sanborn and Snook dealt with the problems that had been hindering the progress of the cause in the state. To that end they conveyed a letter to ministers in Minnesota from Ellen White. Based on what she had seen in vision, Ellen White’s testimony reproved “Elds. Ingraham, Bostwick, Allen and Morse” and as a result “Eld. Bostwick, the only one now endeavoring to labor at all, was at once called in from the work.” The message “was publicly presented before those who had been laboring in a distracting manner and public confessions made…. Powerful meetings were held…the churches were re-organized and more firmly planted.” F. W. Morse described the meetings as a "token of better times."³⁹ Visiting the Cleveland church, Sanborn and Snook noted that “the enemy had reduced a once flourishing church to almost a total wreck” but confessions were made and a church re-organized with fifteen members.⁴⁰

Organization of the Minnesota Conference was completed on July 19, 1863, in Deerfield, at the third annual conference of believers from throughout the state. With guidance from Washington Morse, Snook, and Sanborn, Minnesota became the fourth state conference to adopt the constitution recommended by the General Conference.⁴¹ Church delegates and membership totals included: H. F. Lashier of Pleasant Grove (10), John Bostwick of Oronoco (15), M. W. Porter of Ashland (10), Washington Morse of Deerfield (19), and W. M. Allen of Cleveland (15). Washington Morse was elected president, and each of the other officers had some close connection to him: Secretary, F. W. Morse (Washington's son); Treasurer, David Farnum (Washington’s son-in-law); additional executive committee members, Harrison Grant (Washington's neighbor), and William Merry, whose daughter married Washington’s son.⁴²

On the advice of Sanborn and Snook it was agreed that Minnesota preachers should “for the present, support themselves laboring with their hands.”⁴³ Ministerial work in the state was suspended so that the ministers could reflect upon the admonitions they had been given. After the second General Conference on May 14, 1864, Sanborn revisited Minnesota, returning the pastors to ministry. Meetings were held again for those “unacquainted with our views”, and a new church was organized at Enterprise in Winona County.⁴⁴

Growth

At the fourth annual state-wide conference, held September 15-17, 1864, at Pleasant Grove, the reports from the Minnesota churches indicated that they all enjoyed “union and prosperity, and considerable increase of membership.” Financial challenges were addressed, as churches were “backward in reporting” and brethren were “slack in paying their systematic dues.” Expenses included a Civil War related item – a trip to St. Paul by Washington Morse to present to “the governor of Min. the claim of S. D. Adventists as non-combatants.”⁴⁵

In July 1865, with Sanborn again visiting, the fifth annual conference was held at Deerfield. Reports “were most cheering with all excepting the Deerfield band.” Some contended that Washington Morse and W. M. Allen had been hasty in purchasing a team of horses, as had Sanborn in purchasing a house for Bostwick. The conference president was thus disqualified from ministerial labor, as were Allen and Sanborn. This left only F. W. Morse, who was “prostrated by debility and weariness consequent upon over earnest labor” and Bostwick, so ill with tuberculosis that he protested when the conference renewed his credentials. Nonetheless, Bostwick was also elected conference president. Most other officer positions were also changed. One advance for the cause could be reported: the request from a group in Blue Earth County to be organized as a new church.⁴⁶

Thus, coming out of the conference, Minnesota had only two active workers, one dying and one worn out. That changed when a tried and true minister, Stephen Pierce, moved to the state late in the summer of 1865. Pierce was another Vermonter who had lived close to Morse and Grant⁴⁷ and passed through the 1844 experience. At sixty he was older than most Seventh-day Adventist pioneers, so that they, including Ellen White, often referred to him as “Father Pierce.” James White, in recommending support for Pierce to evangelize in New England in 1863, remarked, “Bro. Pierce is worth more in such a place than ten young, inexperienced, preachers, who think they are smart.”⁴⁸ Prior to moving, Pierce had just completed two years as president of the Vermont Conference. The General Conference committee recommended him to “the Brethren in Minnesota” as a “judicious and well-tried” minister, saying, “We consider him far the ablest and safest man in your State to take a leading position in the cause.”⁴⁹

Meanwhile, John Bostwick remained conference president, but only for a few more months. He died on February 25, 1866, at 29 years old.⁵⁰

On July 6, 1866, Pierce was elected Minnesota Conference president.⁵¹ He led until 1870 when he relinquished the position due to his illness⁵² and was succeeded by Harrison Grant. During Grant's tenure, many more churches were added, including groups in Wisconsin, Iowa, and northern Dakota Territory.⁵³ Grant labored for thirteen years as the longest serving Minnesota Conference President, turning the responsibility over to O. A. Olsen in 1883.⁵⁴

Growth accelerated in the late 1860s and in the 1870s. The total of 69 members when conference organization was completed in 1863 rose to 968 in 1879.⁵⁵ At the 1879 state conference, with the Whites again present, districts were created with assigned ministers to better support growth. Several women were licensed to preach in 1879: Anna Fulton, Libbie (Tripp) Collins and Libbie Fulton. In 1880 Anna Johnson was licensed.⁵⁶ W. B. Hill, who evangelized extensively in Minnesota during the 1870s, stated that Anna Johnson “became a successful minister of the gospel, crowded houses listening to the eloquent words that fell from her lips.”⁵⁷

Early churches were located in southern Minnesota, but an urban group was formed in 1882 at Minneapolis. They built a church in 1886 and hosted the momentous 1888 General Conference.⁵⁸ Work expanded north in 1888 when the Duluth church was added.⁵⁹ In 1882, Grant’s last year as president, membership was 1,306, with 61 churches served by 13 ministers and 11 licentiates.⁶⁰ Not all of these, however, were located in the state of Minnesota. According to General Conference president G. I. Butler, “Minnesota had two or three companies within the limits of Iowa, and some ten churches in the State of Wisconsin.” In accordance with a resolution voted at the 1882 General Conference, the Minnesota Conference agreed to the transfer of these congregations to the Wisconsin and Iowa Conferences, receiving financial compensation for the losses. Minnesota Conference membership dropped to 1,000 as a result.⁶¹ North Dakota churches remained with Minnesota until 1895.⁶²

William B. Hill, whose books Experiences of a Pioneer Minister of Minnesota, and Experiences of a Pioneer Evangelist of the Northwest, provide interesting insights into pioneer ministerial life,⁶³ was among those prominent in building up Adventism in Minnesota in this era. Others included D. M. Canright, who evangelized and spoke at camp meetings during the 1870s.⁶⁴ Another was David P. Curtis, a Seventh Day Baptist minister, who became acquainted with Adventism around 1873, labored with Canright, and gave a “discourse” at camp meeting that year.⁶⁵ After a year's thought, Curtis left the Baptists and became a Seventh-day Adventist minister.⁶⁶ The Baptists, being concerned, sent one of their finest to recover the errant Curtis. It was not Curtis who changed, however, it was the Baptist minister, A. C. Spicer. Spicer and his wife, Susana, joined the Adventist church at the 1875 Eagle Lake camp meeting, becoming devoted church laborers.⁶⁷ Their son, William Ambrose Spicer, also joined and became a pastor, missionary, and General Conference president.⁶⁸ D. P. Curtis continued his Minnesota ministry, serving as conference secretary from 1877 to 1899.⁶⁹

Camp Meetings

Around 1868 Adventists started holding camp meetings, and Minnesota followed that lead. William Ingraham, who moved to Minnesota in 1866, where he spent his remaining ministry, hosted the first Minnesota camp meeting at his farm in Wasioja, Dodge County, September 30 through October 4, 1869.⁷⁰ Minnesotans were pleased to finally have James and Ellen White visit, previous Minnesota travel plans having always been canceled. With the Whites were J. N. Andrews and Jakob Erzberger from Switzerland, where he had recently been among the earliest Europeans to affiliate with Seventh-day Adventism.⁷¹ Later camp meetings were held in summer, locations being near railroads and near water for baptisms. In 1870 it was again at Ingraham’s farm and again the Whites attended, this time bringing Wolcott Littlejohn.⁷² From 1871 to 1874 camp meetings were at Medford near the Straight River. James White noted in 1871 that twenty family tents were pitched in a half circle, with a number of covered wagons behind for family quarters. During these years the devastating grasshopper plagues began but, even though Minnesotans were financially pressed, camp meeting continued to be well-attended.⁷³ Grasshopper plagues continued through 1875-1876, when camp meetings were at Eagle Lake. Attendance ranged from 1,000 to 1,200, with the Whites and Uriah Smith among the visiting speakers.⁷⁴

Further camp meetings were held: 1877-1878, Hutchinson; 1879-1883, Lake Calhoun, Minneapolis; 1884-1885, Sibley Park, Mankato; 1886, Lake Harriet, Minneapolis; 1887, Post Siding, St. Paul; 1888, Minnehaha Park, Minneapolis; 1889-1894, Pleasant Park, Minneapolis; 1895-1897, Merriam Park, St. Paul; 1898, Minneapolis-St. Paul; 1899-1901, Anoka; 1902, St. Peter; 1903-1904, Stillwater; 1905, Maplewood Academy, Maple Plain; 1906-1907, Sauk Rapids-St. Cloud; 1908, Central Park, Minneapolis; 1909, Merriam Park, St. Paul; 1910-1911, South Park, Hutchinson; 1912, Central Park, Northfield; 1913, Lake Como, St. Paul; 1914, St. Paul; 1915-1918, Anoka; 1919-1920, Fairgrounds, Little Falls; 1921-1922, Riverside Park, St. Cloud. Conference business meetings were usually held at camp meetings.⁷⁵

From 1922 to 1955, camp meetings were again held in Anoka (George Green Park), exceptions being 1934, meeting at Maplewood Academy in Hutchinson, and 1945, when no large meetings were allowed due to federal war mandates against extensive traveling. Adventists bought the Anoka park from the city, but in 1955 they sold it back.⁷⁶

From 1956 to 1963, camp meetings met at Mission Farms on Medicine Lake in Minneapolis. In 1964 camp meeting was at the St. Paul National Guard Armory; 1965 at Bethel College, St. Paul; and in 1966 local meetings were held at Detroit Lakes and Faribault. Since 1967, camp meetings have convened at Maplewood Academy in Hutchinson.⁷⁷

In 2019 the Minnesota Conference commemorated 150 years of camp meetings, holding events at many original locations, including reenactments at the Wasioja farm and Medford park, with a baptism also held in the Straight River at Medford.⁷⁸

Cultural Ministry

Since the earliest days, Minnesotans have ministered to a variety of cultures. At the first camp meeting, James White stated, "We feel a deep interest in the Danes in that State [Minnesota], and shall see that Danish publications are furnished at reasonable prices, and a portion to circulate gratuitously."⁷⁹ A Danish church was organized by Danish immigrant John Matteson at Clark's Grove (renamed Hartland, Riceland, and Bath) November 25, 1865, and accepted into the conference in June 1868.⁸⁰ The church met until 1958; many departed members rest in the adjoining Adventist cemetery.⁸¹ Swedish immigrant Charles Lee, a Wasioja physician, labored for Swedes with considerable success, establishing the first Swedish church at Chisago Lake in 1873.⁸² Other Scandinavian churches established included Artichoke, Brookville, Detroit Lakes, Duluth, Gilchrist, Hutchinson, Lake Eunice, St. Paul and Minneapolis.⁸³

The Minneapolis Danish-Norwegian congregation with 130 members built the Scandinavian Tabernacle, dedicated it in 1922, and operated a church school. By 1947 the membership reached 189.⁸⁴ Early Minnesota camp meetings included presentations in Danish-Norwegian, Swedish, and German; Scandinavian meetings continued until 1955.⁸⁵ A Danish-Norwegian Seminary was established in Hutchinson in 1910 to train church workers.⁸⁶

In the twenty-first century, the Minnesota Conference has continued to minister to various cultures, with African and Hispanic camp meetings and churches organized for Burmese, Hispanic, Hmong, Karen, Kenyan, Korean, Nuer (South Sudan), Oromo, Russian, and Zambian congregations.⁸⁷ Since 2009, the Bemidji Church has conducted a Native American children's ministry, “Cass Lake Fellowship,” on the Leach Lake Reserve, with Bob and Holly Ewert leading. Activities include singing, Bible classes, nature lessons, crafts, and a Pathfinder Club started in 2012.⁸⁸

Educational Work

Early recognizing the value of Adventist education, by 1879 the conference offered scholarships and loans for Minnesota youth attending Battle Creek College.⁸⁹ In 1888, Washington Morse highlighted the need for Adventist schools to retain young people in the church and train them for church labors.⁹⁰ In November 1888, after the General Conference in the Minneapolis church, the Minnesota Conference School opened there to prepare students for college. It was the third Adventist preparatory (secondary) school outside of Battle Creek.⁹¹ Sixty students enrolled, with Charles C. Lewis serving as principal.⁹²

Francis (Frank) Detamore attended the Minnesota Conference School from 1888 to 1891, and went on to Battle Creek College, where he heard Ellen White speak on the importance of church (primary) schools. He was so impressed that he wrote a letter back to Minnesota saying he was willing to return and start a school with no pay other than room and board. In the fall of 1898 he started the first church school in the Minnesota Conference, located in Good Thunder.⁹³ Other schools rapidly followed; fourteen opened the next year, and by 1900 there were nearly twenty.⁹⁴

As the century closed, the Minnesota Conference School location was deemed unsuitable, and President C.W. Flaiz appealed for a better school, preferably on a farm.⁹⁵ When farm plans fell through, the school temporarily relocated to the old Commercial Hotel in Anoka, opening in the fall of 1899 as the Minnesota Industrial School. Sixty five students enrolled and, not surprisingly, Frank Detamore was the first principal.⁹⁶ In 1904 the school moved to a farm in Maple Plain. It was shortly thereafter renamed Maplewood Academy due to its maple grove setting.⁹⁷ Otto Bernstein, the first principal, welcomed 57 students. Enrollment quickly increased, and structures were soon added to accommodate growth.⁹⁸

The Northern Union established the Danish-Norwegian Seminary at Hutchinson, Minnesota, opening September 28, 1910, with 40 students, increasing by year end to 82. M. L. Andreasen served as president.⁹⁹ In 1919 the school was renamed Hutchinson Theological Seminary.¹⁰⁰ By 1928, the need for foreign language schools was reduced, and the seminary merged with Maplewood Academy at Hutchinson, under the leadership of Principal Alvin W. Johnson.¹⁰¹

Maplewood Academy continues to operate in Hutchinson as a boarding school providing secondary education and a multi-cultural experience.

Ministries

Among the earliest ministries was the Minnesota Tract and Missionary Society organized in the summer of 1873 at Stewartville. S. N. Haskell led in forming an organization to distribute religious, temperance, and educational publications, and promote member involvement in ministering to others. Adopting the New England Conference constitution for the tract society, Minnesotans divided into districts and elected officers.¹⁰² In November 1885 the society established a city mission in St. Paul and, shortly after, another in Minneapolis.¹⁰³ In late 1886 society operations and the Minneapolis “mission house” were moved to a new building by the Minneapolis church.¹⁰⁴ By 1888 Minnesota also supervised city missions at Winona, Duluth, and Fargo (Dakota Territory).¹⁰⁵ Initially the city mission focused on book and Bible work, but by 1899 the St. Paul Helping Hand Mission also addressed physical needs.¹⁰⁶

In June 1889 the Minnesota tract society reported 1,114 members. For the year, the society conducted about $32,000 worth of business, made more than 23,000 missionary visits, held more than 1,100 Bible studies, distributed more than 66,000 periodicals, and provided books and tracts with pages totaling more than 1.8 million.¹⁰⁷ Around 1890, the society began publication of a weekly newspaper entitled The Minnesota Worker.¹⁰⁸ In the early decades of the 1900s, as part of overall denominational reorganization, the functions of the tract societies were distributed to conference-led departments, the Publishing Department, and Book and Bible Houses, and the subsequently organized Home Missionary department (now Personal Ministries), and to Dorcas Societies (later, Community Services).¹⁰⁹

Through the years, Minnesota Community Services groups provided assistance to people in need, especially in disasters such as tornadoes, fires, and floods.¹¹⁰ The Minnesota Conference purchased a disaster response van which was first used for the Tracy tornado in 1968.¹¹¹ Other Community Services outreach has included stop smoking plans, cooking schools, and booths at state and county fairs.¹¹²

Minnesota Adventists have actively fostered youth ministries since 1860, when Washington Morse reported a Deerfield Sabbath School of 20 scholars between the ages of four and eighteen.¹¹³ Even though announcement of the first camp meeting in 1869 requested “that children...would not be present,” it was not long before youth meetings were included.¹¹⁴ According to the 1879 camp meeting report “an immense model Sabbath school was held, with thirty-seven classes and over three hundred scholars....One little boy, not three years old, sat in his mother’s lap and answered the questions in a clear, audible voice; and one young girl, fourteen or fifteen years old, repeated the entire synopsis of the lesson, without a break, in a voice so distinct as to be heard by the whole school.”¹¹⁵ In 1885 a tent was set up where young children played while mothers listened to preaching.¹¹⁶ In the early 1900s, Ella Merickel of Mankato was a strong youth leader and licensed missionary, serving as conference Sabbath School secretary for fifteen years.¹¹⁷ She promoted Sabbath School programs, led Sabbath School conventions to train teachers, and created teaching materials.¹¹⁸ For many years starting in 1959, Evelyn Lauritzen conducted many Sabbath School workshops.¹¹⁹ Many churches also conducted Vacation Bible Schools, often attended by children and youth from the surrounding community.¹²⁰

Minnesota churches organized Missionary Volunteer and Junior Missionary Volunteer societies for youth.¹²¹ The first Minnesota Pathfinder Club, a Minneapolis group started February 22, 1952, named the "Chippewas," involved eighty young people.¹²² Other groups soon followed.¹²³ Minnesota clubs participated in the first Northern Union Pathfinder Camporee held at Fort Ridgely State Park in Minnesota, May 17-19, 1968.¹²⁴ Today, Minnesota clubs continue to participate in state-wide, national, and international camporees.

The first Minnesota Adventist youth camp was a boys’ camp held July 18-28, 1929, at Lake Independence near Maple Plain.¹²⁵ Other camps were held for boys and girls at various sites¹²⁶ until the conference built North Star Camp near Brainerd, where the first summer camp was held August 3-18, 1957.¹²⁷ In 2016 a new lodge was erected, all the camper cabins were replaced, and several other renovations made.¹²⁸

The conference has also supported women’s and men’s ministries. The first Women’s Retreat was held in 1988 at Cragun’s Resort near Brainerd with 359 attending; the annual retreat continues, usually at Cragun’s.¹²⁹ St. Paul Eastside Church held the first Men’s Retreat. In 1995, Men’s Retreat became a conference-wide event at Cragun’s hosting “First Class Male,” with Marvin Wray. Men’s retreats continue annually, usually at North Star Camp.¹³⁰

In the mid-1940s E. A. Piper began a ministry at Stillwater Prison. After his death, the work was continued by J. A. Nordstrom and resulted in several baptisms.¹³¹ Today Prison Ministries is a conference-wide effort, with Deb Coklas serving as volunteer director.¹³²

In recent years members of several churches have maintained supportive radio ministries sharing gospel, health, and family programming, often using the LifeTalk or 3ABN radio format. Currently stations are located at Bemidji, Blackduck, Brooklyn Park, Cambridge, Detroit Lakes, Dodge Center, Hibbing, Hinckley, Moorhead, Moose Lake, Red Wing, Sebeka, South St. Paul, and Warroad.¹³³

Conference Offices

Early conference work was conducted from officer homes.¹³⁴ The first conference office was next to the First English Church at 336 East Lake Street, Minneapolis.¹³⁵ Later locations were: 679 Holly Avenue, St. Paul; 1575 Selby Avenue, St. Paul; 1854 Roblyn Avenue, St. Paul; 1100 Ford Road at Highway 12 (renamed 10001 Wayzata Boulevard), Minnetonka; 835 North County Road 18, Plymouth (renamed Minneapolis, temporary office); 7384 Kirkwood Court, Maple Grove.¹³⁶ In June 2019 the conference headquarters moved to Spring Lake Park.¹³⁷

Conference Mission and Vision

For over 155 years the Minnesota Conference has supported the global church mission with many Minnesotans laboring as missionaries, ministers, administrators, teachers, healthcare workers, and in other gospel worker capacities, serving around the world, reflecting the mission and vision of the conference today.

Mission: To help people realize they are accepted in Jesus Christ, and come to know, love, serve, and share Him.
Vision: Recognizing that Jesus will return soon, we will all actively engage in ministry.¹³⁸

Presidents

G. Washington Morse (1863-1865); John Bostwick (1865-1866); Stephen Pierce (1866-1870); Harrison Grant (1870-1883); O. A. Olsen (1883-1885); G. C. Tenney (1885-1887); A. D. Olsen (1887-1889); Allen Moon (1889-1890); R. C. Porter (1890-1891); A. J. Breed (1891-1893); N. W. Allee (1893-1897); C. W. Flaiz (1897-1902); Fred Johnson (1902-1904); H. S. Shaw (1904-1907); S. E. Jackson (1907-1912); G. W. Wells (1912-1918); W. H. Clark (1918-1920); E. T. Russell (1920-1920); A. J. Haysmer (1920-1923); Charles Thompson (1923-1924); M. L. Andreasen (1924-1931); A. H. Rulkoetter (1931-1933); V. J. Johns (1933-1936); E. H. Oswald (1936-1937); V. E. Peugh (1937-1941); M. V. Campbell (1941-1942); H. W. Walker (1942-1943); C.V. Anderson (1943-1947); C. V. Leach (1948-1949); F. E. Thompson (1949-1952); E. R. Osmunson (1952-1956); Caris H. Lauda (1956-1964); G. C. Williamson (1964-1966); Arthur Kiesz (1966-1971); R. C. Schwartz (1971-1978); R. S. Watts, Jr. (1978-1980); Ernest Lutz (1980-1986); C. Lee Huff (1986-1996); Dennis N. Carlson (1996-2001); William K. Miller (2001-2006); Thomas L. Lemon (2006-2009); D. Edward Barnett (2009-2014); Justin Lyons (2014-).

Headquarters Address: 8232 Highway 65 NE, Spring Lake Park, MN 5543.

Sources

Hill, W.B. Experiences of a Pioneer Minister of Minnesota. Minneapolis: Press of J. A. Folsom, 1892.

Hill, W.B. Experiences of a Pioneer Evangelist of the Northwest. W.B. Hill, 1902.

History of Winona, Olmsted, and Dodge Counties Together With Biographical Matter, Statistics, Etc. Chicago: H.H. Hill and Company, Publishers, 1884.

Lauritzen, Adrian R.M. Saints of the Northern Star, Seventh-day Adventism in Minnesota. Maple Grove, MN: The Minnesota Conference Association of Seventh-day Adventists, 2005.

Morse, F.W. Secretary’s Records, Minnesota Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, September 20, 1861- July 6, 1866. Personal collection of Kathy Joy Parke, accessible at http://mnsdahistory.org/leaders/conference/minutes/.

Morse, Washington. "Items of Advent Experience During the Past Fifty Years.” – No. 1." Review and Herald, six parts weekly September 11, 1888 through November 6, 1888.

Morse, Washington. "The Former Days." ARH, March 10, 1903.

Parke, Kathy Joy. 1862-2012, From the Wilds of Minnesota ..., 150 years in the Minnesota Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. Buchanan, MI: Kathy Joy Parke, 2012.

Parke, Kathy Joy. Minnesota SDA History (online). Accessed July 11, 2019. http://mnsdahistory.org/.

White, E.G. E.G. White to Ministers in Minnesota. May 1863. Letter 14, 1863. Accessed August 23, 2019, https://m.egwwritings.org/.

Notes

1. Seventh-day Adventist Online Yearbook, “Minnesota Conference,” accessed June 3, 2020, https://www.adventistyearbook.org/entity?EntityID=17320.↩

2. Julia E. Grems, “From Sister Grems,” ARH, December 19, 1854, 143.↩

3. Washington Morse, “Items of Advent Experience During the Past Fifty Years. – No. 6,” ARH, November 6, 1888, 689-690.↩

4. Enos Grems, “Extracts From Letters,” ARH, March 27, 1856, 206.↩

5. Joseph Bates, “Communications,” ARH, May 29, 1856, 46.↩

6. Vermont, Vital Records, 1720-1908 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA, State of Vermont. Vermont Vital Records through 1870. New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, Massachusetts. “Washington Morse,” Ancestry.com, accessed September 2019, http://ancestry.com; Washington Morse, “Items of Advent Experience During the Past Fifty Years. – No. 4,” ARH, October 16, 1888, 642; Washington Morse, “Items of Advent Experience During the Past Fifty Years. – No. 6,” 689; Mrs. H. I. Farnum, “The Decease of a Pioneer,” ARH, May 7, 1901, 304; Washington Morse, “The Former Days,” ARH, March 10, 1903, 19; Gerald Wheeler, James White: Innovator and Overcomer (Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 2003), 119; F. M. Shimper, “Letters: From Sister Shimper,” ARH, August 19, 1851, 15; F. W. Morse, Secretary’s Records, Minnesota Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, September 20, 1861-July 6, 1866, 6, copy in personal collection of Kathy Joy Parke and at http://mnsdahistory.org/leaders/conference/minutes/.↩

7. 1857 Minnesota, Territorial and State Censuses, 1849-1905, Provo, UT, USA: Roll: MN1857_5; Line: 5, “Morse, Washington,” Ancestry.com, accessed July 11, 2019, http://ancestry.com; W. H. Mitchell, “Deerfield,” Geographical and Statistical History of Steele County (Minneapolis: Tribune Printing Company, 1868), 75, accessed November 11, 2019. https://archive.org/details/geographicalstat00mitc.↩

8. Washington Morse, “Items of Advent Experience During the Past Fifty Years. – No. 6,” 689.↩

9. 1860 United States Census, Milton Township, Dodge County, Minnesota, Roll: M653_568; 768; Family History Library Film: 803568, “Porter, Moses,” Ancestry.com, accessed July 11, 2019, http://ancestry.com; History of Winona, Olmsted, and Dodge Counties Together With Biographical Matter, Statistics, Etc. (Chicago: H.H. Hill and Company, Publishers, 1884), 861.↩

10. M. W. Porter, “From Bro. Porter,” ARH, October 16, 1856, 191, and May 7, 1857, 6.↩

11. Mary A. Morton, “Elias Sanford obituary,” The Signs of the Times, June 9, 1890, 350; J. R. Patterson, “Seventy-four Years a Seventh-day Adventist,” ARH, July 7, 1927, 2.↩

12. Elias Sanford, “From Bro. Sanford,” ARH, August 4, 1859, 86.↩

13. James White, “Conference Address,” ARH, June 9, 1859, 21; J[ames] W[hite], “Note” following “From Bro. Sanford,” ARH, August 4, 1859, 86; Wm. S. Ingraham, “Appointments,” ARH, September 8, 1859, 128 and entries in the same periodical in subsequent issues through October 13, 1959.↩

14. 1860 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA, Year: 1860, Census Place: Monroe, Green, Wisconsin; Roll: M653_1411; Page: 317; Family History Library Film: 805411, “Ingraham, Wm. S.” Ancestry.com, accessed November 2019, http://ancestry.com; 1870 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA, Year: 1870, Census Place: Wasioja, Dodge, Minnesota; Roll: T132_3; 820; Family History Library Film: 830423, “Ingraham, Wm.” Ancestry.com, accessed August 2019, http://ancestry.com; U.S., School Catalogs, 1765-1935 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA, “Ingraham, William S.,” Ancestry.com, accessed July 11, 2019, http://ancestry.com; “History, Newbury Seminary,” Vermont College of Fine Arts, accessed July 11, 2019, https://vcfa.edu/about/history/; “A People's History of the School of Theology, Graduates, Beginnings, Newbury Biblical Institute, 1840-1847,” Boston University (online), accessed July 11, 2019, https://www.bu.edu/sth-history/graduates/beginnings/.↩

15. J. N. Loughborough, Rise and Progress of the Seventh-day Adventists With Tokens of God’s Hand in the Movement and a Brief Sketch of the Advent Cause from 1831 to 1844 (Battle Creek, Mich.: General Conference Association of the Seventh-day Adventists, 1892), 164, 208, 267.↩

16. Theodore M. Levterov, “Messenger Party,” in Denis Fortin and Jerry Moon, eds., The Ellen G. White Encyclopedia (Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald, 2013), 974-976.↩

17. Wm. S. Ingraham, “Tour In Minnesota,” ARH, December 22, 1859, 36.↩

18. Minnesota, Territorial and State Censuses, 1849-1905 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: “Bostwick, John, Jun 1 1865,” Roll: MNSC_2, Line 11, Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2007, accessed August 2019, http://ancestry.com; Wm. S. Ingraham, “Progress of the Cause in Min.,” ARH, August 14, 1860, 101; John Bostwick, “Tent Meetings in Minn.,” Review and Herald, September 4, 1860, 125; Secretary’s Records, 6.↩

19. Secretary’s Records, 7.↩

20. Washington Morse, “Items of Advent Experience During the Past Fifty Years - No. 6,” 690; W.A. S[picer], “When Strong Conferences Were Themselves Mission Fields,” ARH, December 19, 1935, 2.↩

21. Ingraham, “Progress of the Cause in Min.,” 101; 1860 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Year: 1860; Census Place: Pleasant Grove, Olmsted, Minnesota; Roll: M653_572; 742; Family History Library Film: 803572, “Lazier, Harry,” Ancestry.com, accessed August 2019, http://ancestry.com.↩

22. H. F. Lashier, “Letters. From Bro. Lashier,” Review and Herald, September 18, 1860, 142; Washington Morse, “From Bro. Morse,” Review and Herald, December 11, 1860, 31; “Orion, Pleasant Grove and Salem Townships, Pleasant Grove,” History of Winona and Olmsted Counties (Chicago: H. H. Hill and Company, Publishers, 1883), 902-903.↩

23. “Appointments,” Review and Herald, January 15, 1861, 72.↩

24. Jno. Bostwick, “From Bro. Bostwick,” ARH, January 22, 1861, 79; John Bostwick, “Minnesota Conference,” ARH, February 12, 1861, 103; W. Morse, “Minnesota Conference,” ARH, February 19, 1861, 108-109; J. Bostwick, “Letters,” ARH, December 31, 1861, 39; Ronald D. Graybill, John Nevins Andrews as a Family Man (Berrien Springs, MI: Andrews University Press, 1979), 15.↩

25. “Arrival,” ARH, June 25, 1861, 40; J. N. Andrews, “Tent-Meeting at Lake City, Minn.,” ARH, June 25, 1861, 40; Jno. Bostwick, “Tent Meeting In Oronoco, Minn.,” ARH, July 2, 1861, 48; Graybill, 15.↩

26. J. N. Andrews, “Extracts From Letters,” ARH, July 16, 1861, 55.↩

27. Secretary’s Records, 7-8; Washington Morse, “Items of Advent Experience During the Past Fifty Years. – No. 6,” 690.↩

28. “Report of Conference at Ashland, Minn.,” ARH, October 15, 1861, 160; Secretary’s Records, 1-8; Wheeler, 113-142.↩

29. Secretary’s Records, 8-9; Jno. Bostick, W. Morse, “Appointments. Tent Meeting in Minnesota,” ARH, June 24, 1862, 32; Washington Morse, F. W. Morse, “Tent Meeting at Rice Lake, Minn,” ARH, August 5, 1862, 80.↩

30. W. Morse, F. W. Morse, “Indian Troubles in the West,” ARH, September 9, 1862, 119; “The Indian Massacres,” ARH, December 9, 1862, 11; W. Morse, “Extracts From Letters,” ARH, January 20, 1863, 63.↩

31. Secretary’s Records, 8-9; Washington Morse and Jno. Bostwick, “Appointments,” ARH, September 9, 1862, 120.↩

32. “Business Proceedings of the Minnesota Conference,” ARH, November 4, 1862, 182-183; Secretary’s Records, 9-10; Ezra Odell, “Letters. From Bro. Odell,” ARH, April 24, 1866, 167.↩

33. Jno. Bostwick. W. Morse, “Voice From Minnesota,” ARH, November 18, 1862, 198.↩

34. Secretary’s Records, 11.↩

35. C. G. Campbell, “Extracts From Letters,” ARH, December 9, 1862, 15; John Bostwick, “Letters,” ARH, February 24, 1863, 102; H. F. Lashier, “Letters,” ARH, February 10, 1863, 86.↩

36. A. J. Breed, “Another Standard-Bearer Fallen,” ARH, April 2, 1901, 219; Stephen Pierce, “Doings of the Vermont Conference, June 15, 1862,” ARH, July 1, 1862, 40; Harrison Grant, “To the Churches in Vt.,” ARH, August 6, 1862, 80; Minnesota Historical Society. Minnesota State Population Census Schedules, 1865-1905. St. Paul, MN, USA: Minnesota Historical Society, 1977. Microfilm. Reels 1-47 and 107-164, “Name: Harrison Grant, Census Date: Jun 1, 1865, County: Steele, Locality: Deerfield, Gender: Male, Line: 1, Roll: MNSC_3,” Ancestry.com, accessed August 2019, http://ancestry.com.↩

37. “General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists First Annual Meeting, May 20, 1863,” in “Transcription of minutes of GC sessions from 1863 to 1888,” 2, 4, General Conference Archives, accessed August 31, 2019, http://documents.adventistarchives.org/Minutes/GCSM/GCB1863-88.pdf; U. Smith, “Report of General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists,” ARH, May 26, 1863, 204-206; Washington Morse, “Items of Advent Experience During the Past Fifty Years. – No. 6,” ARH, November 6, 1888, 690.↩

38. “Report of the Executive Committee,” ARH, May 26, 1863, 206.↩

39. Ellen G. White to Ministers in Minnesota, May 1863, Letter 14, 1863, accessed August 23, 2019, https://m.egwwritings.org/; Secretary’s Records, 14-15; Washington Morse, “The Minnesota Conference,” ARH, August 4, 1863, 78; Jno. Bostwick, “A Confession,” ARH, August 11, 1863, 86; W. M. Allen, “A Confession,” ARH, August 11, 1863, 86.↩

40. I. Sanborn, B.F. Snook, “Report from Minnesota,” ARH, August 11, 1863, 85.↩

41. F. W. Morse, “Doings of the Minnesota State Conference, July 19th, 1863,” ARH, August 4, 1863, 75; Secretary’s Records, 15-23; U. Smith, “Doings of the Mich. State Conference. May 22. 1863,” ARH, May 26, 1863, 206; H. F. Baker, “Report of Ohio Conference,” ARH, June 16, 1863, 24; D. T. Bourdeau, “Doings of the Vermont State Conference,” ARH, June 30, 1863, 37; Wm. H. Brinkerhoff, “Proceedings of the Iowa State Conference for 1863,” ARH, October 13, 1863, 159; T. M. Steward, “Ills. and Wis. State Conference for 1863,” ARH, October 13, 1863, 159; J. M. Aldrich, “New York Conference Report,” ARH, December 1, 1863, 2-3.↩

42. F. W. Morse, “Doings of the Minnesota State Conference;” Secretary’s Records, 15-23; “Illinois, Deaths and Stillbirths Index, 1916-1947” [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA, “Morse, Ferdinand William,” Ancestry.com accessed September 2, 2019, http://ancestry.com; “Michigan, Marriage Records, 1867-1952” [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA, Michigan Department of Community Health, Division of Vital Records and Health Statistics; Lansing, MI, USA; Michigan, Marriage Records, 1867-1952; Film: 87; Film Description: 1905 Wayne-1906 Emmet; “F.W. Morse, Margaret A. Merry, John F. Morse,” Ancestry.com accessed September 2, 2019, http://ancestry.com; “Michigan, Death Records, 1867-1952” [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA, Michigan Department of Community Health, Division for Vital Records and Health Statistics; Lansing, Michigan; Death Records, “Farnum, Harriet Morse,” Ancestry.com accessed September 2, 2019, http://ancestry.com.↩

43. F. W. Morse, “Doings of the Minnesota State Conference;” Secretary’s Records, 23.↩

44. Secretary’s Records, 24-25.↩

45. F. W. Morse, “Doings of the Fourth Annual Session of the Minnesota State Conference,” ARH, April 12, 1864, 155; Secretary’s Records, 25-34.↩

46. Secretary’s Records, 36-42.↩

47. 1850 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA, Year: 1850; Census Place: Roxbury, Washington, Vermont; Roll: M432_928; Page: 88A; Image: 175, “Stephen Pierce,” Ancestry.com, accessed September 1, 2019, http://ancestry.com; 1860 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA, Year: 1860; Census Place: Roxbury, Washington, Vermont; Roll: M653_1324; Page: 938; Family History Library Film: 805324, “Pierce, Stephen,” Ancestry.com, accessed September 1, 2019, http://ancestry.com.↩

48. James White, “Eastern Tour,” ARH, November 10, 1863, 188.↩

49. Bourdeau, “Doings of the Vermont State Conference,” 37; Gen. Conf. Committee, “To the Brethren in Minnesota,” ARH, October 10, 1865, 152.↩

50. Henry F. Phelps, “Elder John Bostwick obituary,” ARH, March 27, 1866, 135.↩

51. Secretary’s Records, 48.↩

52. H. F. Phelps, “Minnesota Conference,” ARH, July 19, 1870, 38.↩

53. Phelps, “Minnesota Conference,” ARH, July 19, 1870, 38; H. F. Phelps, “Minnesota Conference,” ARH, July 9, 1872, 30; H. F. Phelps, “Minnesota Conference,” ARH, Jul 21, 1874, 46; D. P. Curtis, “Minnesota Conference,” ARH, July 12, 1877, 23; D. P. Curtis, “Minnesota Conference Proceedings,” ARH, July 27, 1886, 477; W. B. Hill, Experiences of a Pioneer Minister of Minnesota (Minneapolis: Press of J. A. Folsom, 1892), 97.↩

54. Geo. I. Butler, “The Camp-Meeting at Minneapolis, Minn.,” ARH, July 10, 1883, 440.↩

55. Secretary’s Records, 23; F. W. Morse, “Doings of the Minn. State Conference,” ARH, August 29, 1865, 102; H. F. Phelps, “Minnesota State Conference,” ARH, July 21, 1868, 73; H. F. Phelps, “Minnesota Conference,” ARH, July 22, 1873, 46; D. P. Curtis, “Minnesota Conference,” ARH, July 17, 1879, 31.↩

56. D. P. Curtis, “Minnesota Conference,” ARH, July 17, 1879, 31; D. P. Curtis, “Minnesota Conference,” ARH, July 15, 1880, 61.↩

57. W. B. Hill, Experiences of a Pioneer Evangelist of the Northwest (n.p.: published by author, 1902), 69-70.↩

58. E. A. Wright, “Minnesota Conference,” ARH, July 11, 1882, 444; G. C. Tenney, “The Cause in Minnesota,” ARH, March 16, 1886, 174; G. C. Tenney, “The Work in Minnesota,” ARH, August 17, 1886, 523-524; “The General Conference Institute,” ARH, October 16, 1888, 648.↩

59. D. P. Curtis, “Minnesota Conference Proceedings,” ARH, June 26, 1888, 413.↩

60. “Seventh-day Adventist Statistics, 1882,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Battle Creek, Mich.: Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association, 1883), 33.↩

61. “General Conference Proceedings, 1882,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Battle Creek, Mich.: Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association, 1883), 26-28; Geo. I. Butler, “Conference Boundaries,” ARH, January 2, 1883, 11; “Seventh-day Adventist Statistics, 1883,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Battle Creek, Mich.: Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association, 1884), 73; B. F. Lee, “Minutes of the Minnesota Conference,” ARH, July 10, 1883, 445.↩

62. “General Conference Proceedings,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Battle Creek, Mich.: Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association, 1885), 30; “Conferences Not Following State Lines,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook for 1894 (Battle Creek, Mich.: General Conference Association of Seventh-day Adventists, 1894), 39; D. A. Robinson, “The Conference – Closing Notes,” ARH, November 12, 1889, 713; G.C. T[enney], “General Conference,” ARH, March 5, 1895, 155; N. P. Nelson, “To Our Brethren In North Dakota,” ARH, March 12, 1895, 174-185; J. H. Durland, “The North Dakota Camp-Meeting,” ARH, July 23, 1895, 474.↩

63. “Literary Notices,” ARH, November 1, 1892, 688.↩

64. D. M. Canright, “High Forest, Minn.,” ARH, July 2, 1872, 22; Geo. I. Butler, “The Minnesota Camp-Meeting,” ARH, July 9, 1872, 30; D.M. Canright, “Glencoe, Minn.,” ARH, August 20, 1872, 78; Geo. I. Butler, “The Minnesota Camp-Meeting,” ARH, July 15, 1873, 36; D.P. Curtis, “Minnesota Conference,” ARH, July 4, 1878, 11.↩

65. D. M. Canright, “Minnesota,” ARH, May 27, 1873, 190; Geo. I. Butler, “The Minnesota Camp-Meeting,” ARH, July 15, 1873, 36-37.↩

66. D. P. Curtis, “Letter from D. P. Curtis,” ARH, July 28, 1874, 53; H. F. Phelps, “Minnesota Conference,” ARH, July 15, 1875, 22-23.↩

67. Arthur Whitefield Spalding, Captains of the Host (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1949), Appendix, “Page 232”, 680-681; U.S., “The Minnesota Camp-Meeting,” ARH, July 8, 1875, 12; J. N. Anderson, “Susana M. Coon obituary,” ARH, October 1, 1914, 22.↩

68. D. E. Rebok, “Biographical Sketch of W. A. Spicer,” ARH, November 13, 1952, 14.↩

69. D. P. Curtis, “Minnesota Conference,” ARH, July 12, 1877, 23; D. P. Curtis, “Minnesota Conference Proceedings,” ARH, July 12, 1898, 449, H. F. Phelps, “Minnesota Conference Proceedings,” ARH, June 27, 1899, 417.↩

70. Gen. Conf. Com., “Distribution of Labor,” ARH, May 29, 1866, 204; E. W. Darling, “Minnesota Conference,” ARH, July 31, 1866, 70; Wm. S. Ingraham, “Report from Bro. Ingraham,” ARH, January 22, 1867, 77; Henry F. Phelps, “Minnesota Conference Report,” ARH, June 25, 1867, 21; Conf. Com., “Minnesota Camp-meeting and Conference,” ARH, September 7, 1869, 88; Gen. Conf. Com., “Western Camp-Meetings,” ARH, September 14, 1869, 96; W. C. G., “Minnesota Camp-meeting,” ARH, September 28, 1869, 112.↩

71. James White, “Appointments,” ARH, March 26, 1861, 152; James White, “Appointments,” ARH, April 2, 1861, 160; J[ames] W[hite], “At Home,” ARH, April 9, 1861, 168; James White, “Appointments,” ARH, March 11, 1862, 120; James White, “Western Tour,” ARH, October 19, 1869, 133; Daniel Heinz, “Erzberger, James 'Jakob',” in Denis Fortin and Jerry Moon, eds., The Ellen G. White Encyclopedia (Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald, 2013), 370-371.↩

72. “Here and Hereabouts,” Dodge County Republican, June 10, 1870, 1; Minnesota Camp-Meeting Com., “Minnesota Camp-Meeting. Change of Place,” ARH, May 17, 1870; James White, “Western Tour,” ARH, July 5, 1870, 21-22.↩

73. Calvin Kelsey, “The Minnesota Camp-Meeting,” ARH, May 30, 1871, 192; James White, “Western Tour,” ARH, July 11, 1871, 28; Geo. I. Butler, “The Minnesota Camp-Meeting,” ARH, July 9, 1872, 30; Gen. Conf. Com., “Change of the Appointment of the Wisconsin and Minnesota Camp-Meetings,” ARH, May 20, 1873, 184; I.Z. Lamb, “To the Friends in Minnesota,” ARH, June 9, 1874, 207.↩

74. U[riah] S[mith], “The Minnesota Camp-Meeting,” ARH, July 8, 1875, 12; J[ames] W[hite], “Cause in Minnesota,” ARH, July 8, 1875, 12; U[riah] S[mith], “Grasshoppers by Measure,” ARH, July 8, 1875, 16; “Camp-Meetings for 1876,” ARH, June 22, 1876, 199; U[riah] S[mith], “The Minnesota Camp-Meeting,” ARH, July 6, 1876, 12. For a vivid description of the grasshopper plagues in Minnesota and elsewhere, see Caroline Fraser, Prairie Fires, The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder (New York: Metropolitan Books, 2017), 74-78. Several photographs from the Eagle Lake camp meetings are preserved in the Smith-Bovee Collection, Center for Adventist Research, accessible in the Adventist Digital Library, https://adventistdigitallibrary.org.↩

75. Camp meeting accounts and Minnesota Conference proceedings as reported in: ARH, 1869-1922; Northern Union Reaper, 1906-1922.↩

76. Camp meeting accounts as reported in: ARH, 1922-1955; Northern Union Reaper, 1922-1932; Central Union Reaper, 1932-1937; Northern Union Outlook, 1937-1955.↩

77. Camp meeting accounts as reported in: ARH, 1955-1956; Northern Union Outlook, 1955-1980; The Mid-America Adventist Outlook, 1981-1990.↩

78. Kathy Parke and Commemorative Camp Meeting Planning Committee, 150 Years of Minnesota Seventh-day Adventist Camp Meetings, 1869-2019, Commemorative Bulletin.↩

79. James White, “Western Tour,” ARH, October 19, 1869, 133.↩

80. Church Record, Hartland, Minn., November 25, 1867, Title Page, 16-17 translated from Danish to English, 85-94, inserted pages; John Matteson, “Report from Bro. Matteson,” ARH, October 30, 1866, 174-175; John Matteson, “Report From Bro. Matteson,” ARH, October 29, 1867, 305; John Matteson, “Report From Bro. Matteson,” ARH, November 26, 1867, 380; H. F. Phelps, “Minnesota State Conference,” ARH, July 21, 1868, 73; H.F. P[helps], “Minnesota Conference,” ARH, October 26, 1869, 142; H.F. Phelps, “The Minnesota Camp-Meeting,” ARH, July 9, 1872, 30.↩

81. “Seventh-day Adventist Cemetery, Bath, Freeborn County, Minnesota.” Find A Grave. Accessed September 6, 2019. https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/2206125/seventh-day-adventist-cemetery. Marker at the cemetery specifies that the congregation joined the Albert Lea congregation in 1958.↩

82. M. Ellsworth Olsen, A History of the Origin and Progress of Seventh-day Adventists, Second Edition (Takoma Park, Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing, 1926), 352; John Matteson, “Chisago Lake, Minn.,” ARH, July 22, 1873, 46; 1870 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA, Year: 1870; Census Place: Wasioja, Dodge, Minnesota; Roll: T132_3; Page: 824; Family History Library Film: 830423, “Lee, Charles,” Ancestry.com, accessed November 13, 2019, http://ancestry.com.↩

83. H. R. Johnson, “Minnesota. Among The Churches,” ARH, January 13, 1891, 27; F. B. Johnson, “Minnesota. Among The Churches,” ARH, March 22, 1892, 188; Fred Johnson, “Lake Eunice, Detroit, and Local,” The Northern Union Reaper, January 1, 1907, 5; H. R. Gay, “Statement of Tithe,” Northern Union Reaper, April 16, 1912, 5.↩

84. K. G. Risetter , C. Edwardson, “Church Dedication,” Northern Union Reaper, October 3, 1922, 4; N.P. Neilsen, “Church Dedication,” Northern Union Reaper, October 17, 1922, 1-2; Dyre Dyresen, “The 26^th Anniversary,” Northern Union Outlook, December 23, 1947, 3-4.↩

85. E. W. Farnsworth, “Minnesota Camp-Meeting,” ARH, July 15, 1884, 457 and similar camp meeting reports for Minnesota in the same periodical; D. P. Curtis, “Minnesota Conference. Seventeenth Annual Session,” ARH, July 4, 1878, 11; J.A. Nordstrom, “Attention, Scandinavians!,” Northern Union Outlook, May 31, 1955, 11.↩

86. R. A. Underwood, “They Shall All Be Taught of God,” Northern Union Reaper, February 22, 1910, 1-2.↩

87. Minnesota Conference of Seventh-day Adventists (online). “Find A Church.” Accessed September 15, 2019. https://www.mnsda.com; Carol Lyons, Executive Administrative Assistant for Elder Brian Mungandi, Vice President for Administration, Secretariat, Minnesota Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, email message to author, September 15, 2019.↩

88. Holly Ewert, email message to author, October 28, 2019.↩

89. D. P. Curtis, “Minnesota Conference,” ARH, July 17, 1879, 31.↩

90. Washington Morse, “Items of Advent Experience During the Past Fifty Years – No. 6,” 689-690.↩

91. W. W. Prescott, “A Conference School In Minnesota,” ARH, September 25, 1888, 618; “Preparatory Schools,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook. (Battle Creek, Mich.: Review & Herald Publishing Co., 1889), 122.↩

92. “Closing College Exercises,” ARH, June 26, 1888, 416; A. D. Olsen, “Minnesota Conference School,” ARH, November 27, 1888, 748.↩

93. C. M. Willison, “Education As It Started in the Northern Union,” Northern Union Outlook, December 8, 1972, 2-3; M. B. D., “Church Schools,” The Advocate, February 1899, 88; E. L. Neff, “Elder Francis Arthur Detamore obituary,” North Pacific Union Gleaner, January 3, 1939, 7.↩

94. F. A. Detamore, “Words From The Teachers,” Advocate, July 1900, 235; F. A. Detamore, “In Minnesota,” The Advocate, November 1900, 343.↩

95. C. W. Flaiz, “Shall Minnesota Have A School?,” Minnesota Worker, November 9, 1898, 1.↩

96. Adrian R. M. Lauritzen, Saints of the Northern Star, Seventh-day Adventism in Minnesota (Maple Grove, MN: The Minnesota Conference Association of Seventh-day Adventists, 2005), 205-209; Maud Weseman, “Items,” Advocate, February 1900, 57; F. A. Detamore, “Extracts From The Letters Of Church-School Teachers,” Advocate, April 1, 1900, 127; “Items,” Advocate, July 1900, 237; E. L. Neff, “Elder Francis Arthur Detamore obituary,” North Pacific Union Gleaner, January 3, 1939, 7; “Minnesota Industrial School,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1904), 82.↩

97. ARH, October 13, 1904, 24; “Maplewood Academy,” ARH, March 29, 1906, 21.↩

98. “Maplewood Industrial School,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1905), 94; The Maple Log (Maplewood Academy, Hutchinson, MN, 1954), 6; Lauritzen, 209-212; H. E. Rogers, “Denominational Institutions, Academies,” Statistical Report of Seventh-day Adventist Conferences, Missions and Institutions,1907, 12.↩

99. M. Ellsworth Olsen, A History of the Origin and Progress of Seventh-day Adventists (Takoma Park, Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, Second Edition, 1926), 693-694; R. A. Underwood, “The Danish-Norwegian Seminary Located,” Northern Union Reaper, December 28, 1909, 1-2; R. A. Underwood, “The Danish-Norwegian Seminary,” ARH, February 17, 1910, 15-16; R. A. Underwood, “They Shall All Be Taught of God,” Northern Union Reaper, February 22, 1910, 1-2; R. A. Underwood, “Report of the President, The Danish-Norwegian Seminary,” Northern Union Reaper, February 22, 1910, 3-4; T. D. Gibson, “A Statement,” Northern Union Reaper, February 22, 1910, 6-7; “The Danish-Norwegian Seminary,” Northern Union Reaper, October 4, 1910, 2; P. E. Berthelsen, “Hutchinson, Minn.,” Northern Union Reaper, November 8, 1910, 3; M. L. Andreasen, “Danish-Norwegian Seminary,” Northern Union Reaper, December 27, 1910, 2; H. E. Rogers, “Denominational Institutions,” Statistical Report of Seventh-day Adventist Conferences, Missions, and Institutions, For the Year Ending December 31, 1910, 16; Franklyn Curtiss-Wedge and Return I. Holcombe, History of McLeod County Minnesota (Chicago and Winona: H. C. Cooper Jr. & Co., 1917), 378-381.↩

100. “Seminary Pencilgrams,” Northern Union Reaper, January 28, 1919, 4; “Seminary Pencilgrams,” Northern Union Reaper, September 16, 1919, 4; The Waymark (Hutchinson Theological Seminary, Hutchinson, MN, 1928), 29-36; “Their Addresses,” The Waymark (Hutchinson Theological Seminary, Hutchinson, MN, 1927), Accessed October 21, 2019, http://mnsdahistory.org/schools/hts/yearbooks/; The Waymark (Hutchinson Theological Seminary, Hutchinson, MN, 1926), 43-44.↩

101. General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, “Two Hundred Eighth Meeting, General Conference Committee, Hutchinson Theological Seminary” May 2, 1928, 554-555, and May 31, 1928, 578-579, General Conference Archives, accessed October 21, 2019, http://documents.adventistarchives.org/Minutes/GCC/GCC1928.pdf; I. G. Ortner, “Notice,” Northern Union Reaper, July 17, 1928, 1-2; “Minnesota Items,” Northern Union Reaper, July 17, 1928, 7.↩

102. I. Z. Lamb, “Minnesota Tract and Missionary Society,” ARH, June 24, 1873, 15; W. H. Littlejohn, “Systematic Effort,” ARH, November 1, 1870, 153-154; “Tract and Missionary Societies,” Seventh-day Adventist Encyclopedia, 2nd rev. ed (1996), s.v.; “Tract and Missionary Societies”; Minnesota Tract and Missionary Society, “Constitution of Minn. Tract Society,” June, 1897, 1-3, Personal collection of Kathy Joy Parke.↩

103. H. P. Holser, “Minneapolis Mission,” ARH, March 23, 1886, 183; W. B. White, “St. Paul Mission,” ARH, May 25, 1886, 326; “Sketches of City Missions, Minneapolis, Minn.,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Battle Creek, Mich.: Review and Herald Publishing House, 1887), 137-138; “City Missions, Minnesota,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Battle Creek, Mich.: Review and Herald Publishing House, 1888), 140; David J. B. Trim, “In These Cities Are Jewels: Lessons from Adventist City Missions—1880–1915,” Journal of Adventist Mission Studies 15, No. 1, 104-117, https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/jams/vol15/iss1/9.↩

104. G. C. Tenney, “The Work in Minnesota,” ARH, August 17, 1886, 523-524.↩

105. “City Missions, Minnesota,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Battle Creek, Mich.: Review and Herald Publishing House, 1888), 140.↩

106. John Harvey Kellogg, “Our City Missions” and “Helping Hand Mission, Minneapolis, Minn.,” The Medical Missionary, February 1899, 55; John Harvey Kellogg, “Our City Missions,” The Medical Missionary, April 1899, 118; accessed February 23, 2020, https://books.google.com/.↩

107. C. N. Woodward, “Minnesota Tract Society Proceedings,” ARH, July 30, 1889, 492-493.↩

108. Based on Volume numbering of Minnesota Worker, January 1895 to January 1899, personal collection of Kathy Joy Parke.↩

109. “Tract and Missionary Societies;” “Book and Bible House Items,” Northern Union Outlook, December 4, 1923, 2.↩

110. C. H. Lauda, “From The President's Desk,” Northern Union Outlook, September 11, 1962, 3; P. F. Pedersen, “State Fair Booth,” Northern Union Outlook, September 18, 1962, 7; D. G. Albertsen, “Northbrook Health and Welfare Activities,” Northern Union Outlook, August 11, 1967, 7; Beverly Wiedemann, “Are You Prepared!,” Northern Union Outlook, November 24, 1967, 11; “Morgan Health and Welfare Center,” Northern Union Outlook, February 26, 1971, 7; “Cooking Classes In Blackduck,” Northern Union Outlook, January 20, 1975, 9; “Glenwood District News,” Northern Union Outlook, September 27, 1976, 8; Alice Noren, R. N., “A.B.L.E., Adventists for Better Living Education,” Northern Union Outlook, March 3, 1980, 7.↩

111. Lee Kretz, “Tracy Tornado,” Northern Union Outlook, July 19, 1968. 12.↩

112. C. H. Lauda, “Thrilling Results of Stop-Smoking Plan,” Northern Union Outlook, April 23, 1963, 4; D. M. Johnson, “Duluth Cooking School,” Northern Union Outlook, June 25, 1971, 3; Geegee Kitzler, “New London Church – A Church With A Plan!,” Northern Union Outlook, April 28, 1980, 6; Jean Lehman and Joyce Scalzo, “Healthful Living Seminar At Hutchinson,” Northern Union Outlook, April 28, 1980, 6.↩

113. Washington Morse, “Deerfield Sabbath School,” Youth's Instructor, August 1860, 64.↩

114. Stephen Pierce, Wm. S. Ingraham, H. Grant, “Minnesota Camp-Meeting and Conference,” ARH, September 7, 1869, 88.↩

115. J. S. Olive, “The Minnesota Camp-Meeting,” ARH, July 10, 1879, 21.↩

116. G. I. B[utler], “The Minnesota Camp-Meeting,” ARH, July 14, 1885, 441.↩

117. “Minnesota Conference,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: The General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, 1904), 39 and similar entries in the same periodical; “Ella Ermina Merickel obituary,” ARH, January 28, 1943, 24.↩

118. L. Johnson, “An Old-Fashioned Camp Meeting,” ARH, July 15, 1902, 18; “Program of the Sabbath-School and Young People's Convention,” ARH, June 27, 1907, 16-17; “Sabbath School Department, Eighth Meeting, May 31, 8 A. M.,” ARH, June 10, 1909, 8.↩

119. E. F. Finck, “Notice! Leaders and Teachers in Children's Departments,” Northern Union Outlook, May 19, 1959, 3-4; E. F. Finck, “Last Call!,” Northern Union Outlook, June 2, 1959, 5; “Attention!,” Northern Union Outlook, May 23, 1961, 3; Sabbath School Department, “Bringing God to the Children,” Northern Union Outlook, August 3, 1973, 4-5.↩

120. Mrs. P. S. Young, “Northome Vacation Bible School” and “Detroit Lakes Vacation Bible School,” Northern Union Reaper, July 16, 1963, 6-7; Kathy Joy Parke, personal experience as Vacation Bible School director for about seventeen years in Northome where attendance that ranged as high as eighty often had only about ten Seventh-day Adventist attendees.↩

121. Mrs. F. H. Yost, “M.V. Enthusiasm Wins,” Northern Union Reaper, March 16, 1926, 5.↩

122. Mrs. Marco S. Jones, “A New Pathfinder Club,” Northern Union Outlook, March 18, 1952, 8.↩

123. Paul Nystrom, “It's Time To Join A Minnesota Pathfinder Club,” Northern Union Outlook, September 27, 9.↩

124. C.M. Willison, “Northern Union Pathfinder Camporee,” Northern Union Outlook, May 31, 1963, 1-2; Kathy Joy Parke, personal knowledge from having attended the 1963 camporee at Fort Ridgely.↩

125. Frank H. Yost, “Applications for the Boy's Camp,” Northern Union Reaper, June 25, 1929, 5; Frank H. Yost, “The 1929 Boys' Camp,” Northern Union Reaper, September 17, 1929, 7.↩

126. C. H. Lauda, “Minnesota Youth,” Northern Union Outlook, July 13, 1937, 1; C. H. Lauda, “Summer Camp,” Northern Union Outlook, June 14, 1938, 4; Ellis R. Colson, “A Very Successful Junior Camp,” Northern Union Outlook, August 28, 1945, 6-7; P. C. Jarnes, “Juniors! Make Camp Reservations Now!,” Northern Union Outlook, July 8, 1952, 6-7.↩

127. Harris H. Jones, The Founding of North Star Camp (Spring Lake Park, MN: Minnesota Conference of Seventh-day Adventists), 1-14. Available online: http://mnsdahistory.org/gatherings/north-star/; E. D. Clifford, “Progress at the North Star MV Camp,” Northern Union Outlook, July 2, 1957, 4-5.↩

128. Savannah B. Carlson, “North Star Camp Open House,” The Northern Light (Online), June 1, 2016, accessed October 23, 2019. https://mnsdanewsletter.wordpress.com/2016/06/01/north-star-camp-open-house/.↩

129. Lauritzen, 239-240; Kathy Joy Parke, personal knowledge from attending the first Minnesota Women's Retreat in 1988; “Women's Ministries,” Minnesota Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, accessed October 23, 2019. https://www.mnsda.com/ministries/women.↩

130. Pastor Ken Mayberry, email message to author, October 24, 2019; “Men's Ministries,” Minnesota Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, accessed October 23, 2019, https://www.mnsda.com/ministries/men.↩

131. W. L. Barclay, “Prison Work Demonstrated,” Northern Union Outlook, September 18, 1945, 7; J. A. Nordstrom, “News Item,” Northern Union Outlook, November 12, 1946, 3; J. A. Norstrom, “Baptism at Stillwater Prison,” Northern Union Outlook, January 14, 1947, 7.↩

132. “Prison Ministries,” Minnesota Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, accessed October 24, 2019. https://www.mnsda.com/ministries/prison.↩

133. Justin Lyons, President, Minnesota Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, email message to author, October 24, 2019.↩

134. “State Conference Directories,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Battle Creek, Mich.: Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association, 1883), 9.↩

135. “Minnesota Conference,” Yearbook of the Seventh-day Adventists (Washington, D.C., Mich.: The General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, 1904), 38; “From the Field, Minnesota,” Northern Union Reaper, April 4, 1916, 4.↩

136. “Minnesota,” Northern Union Reaper, April 11, 1916, 5; S. D. Hartwell, “Our New Location,” Northern Union Reaper, May 2, 1916, 5; “Minnesota,” Northern Union Reaper, January 1, 1918, 5; “Minnesota,” Northern Union Reaper, March 12, 1918, 4; G. W. Wells, “Change of Office Address,” Northern Union Reaper, March 19, 1918, 8; “Minnesota,” Northern Union Reaper, May 3, 1920, 2; “Minnesota,” Northern Union Reaper, May 18, 1920, 3; “Minnesota,” Northern Union Outlook, October 6, 1967, 5; “Minnesota” and “Attention,” Northern Union Outlook, October 13, 1967, 4; “Local Conference Directory,” Mid-America Adventist Outlook, July 4, 1985, 2; “Local Conference Directory,” Mid-America Adventist Outlook, August 1, 1985, 2; “Local Conference Directory,” Mid-America Adventist Outlook, June, 1986, 2; “Local Conference Directory,” Mid-America Adventist Outlook, July, 1986, 2.↩

137. Minnesota Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, accessed October 24, 2019, https://www.mnsda.com; Kathy Joy Parke, personal knowledge from working on historical projects with the Minnesota Conference of Seventh-day Adventists in 2019.↩

138. “About Minnesota Conference,” Minnesota Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, 2019, accessed November 3, 2019, https://www.mnsda.com/about; Justin Lyons, President, Minnesota Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, email message to author, October 28, 2019.↩