Historian's Corner: Decisions at World Conference

Historian's Corner, Vol. 3, No. 1

By Stephen Thompson, Canada West Mission Centre Historian

On January 29, 2025, Prophet-President-Designate Stassi Cramm released a second "Pastoral Letter" to the church, addressing upcoming changes in church leadership that will be considered at World Conference. Among these changes is the call for Shannon McAdam to extend her ministry as a special minister for Christ, joining the Council of Twelve Apostles. This news brought several thoughts to mind—chief among them, my strong support for Shannon’s call. Another thought was how deeply World Conference impacts our church and even us as individual members. That is the theme I will explore in this and the next two to four columns leading up to World Conference.

Mark Scherer’s third volume of The Journey of a People: The ERA of WORLDWIDE COMMUNITY, 1946 to 2015 includes a useful "Timeline of Major Events" spanning pages 577–618. One key moment stands out: On April 7, 1960, General Conference delegates Jack Waddell and James Christenson proposed changing "General Conference" to "World Conference" to better reflect the church’s global nature. The conference agreed, and while some "old-timers" still use the former term, "World Conference" and "World Church" quickly became standard. (For more on early challenges related to the term "World Church," see pages 263–265.)

That name change reflected a growing reality. Within a page or two of this notation, Scherer highlights several significant moments in the church’s international expansion. For instance, on June 1, 1959, The Saints’ Herald reported that Apostles Blair Jensen and Charles Neff were setting out on a "survey trip" to Japan, Korea, and Okinawa. Then, in October 1962, the First Presidency received a letter from Mrs. Dinah Tommy in Nigeria—the first recorded contact from the African continent. By January 1964, Apostles Percy Farrow and Duane Couey reported on efforts to establish the church in Africa. Later that year, Emerson Gobert Edett arrived at Graceland College, was ordained an elder the following year, and later returned to Nigeria to help build the church there.

Scherer’s timeline continues with a striking event from July 1970: "Over 400 baptisms of Saora tribal members occur in the Orissa Province of India. Fewer than six baptized men have plural wives." (That last detail could lead us into another long story—but maybe another time!)

Richard Howard’s The Church Through the Years – Volume 2 similarly traces the church’s international growth between 1960 and 1991 (Chapter 33, pages 319–352). He details the church’s development in several African nations—including Nigeria, Kenya, Liberia, Zaire, Zambia, Ivory Coast, and Malawi—as well as the Caribbean (Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Grand Cayman, and Haiti). He also summarizes the church’s expansion in India during the 1950s and 1960s, crediting early work to Keith McCormick and W.E. Connell. In 1965, Apostles Charles Neff and Clifford Cole formally established the church in the Orissa region, baptizing 29 people and ordaining G.S. Chawla as an elder. By 1990, at the 25th-anniversary celebrations, Apostle Jim Cable reported an attendance of 3,000 people from the tribal areas (Howard, p. 337).

Howard also documents the church’s growth in Latin America (Mexico, Peru, Colombia, El Salvador, Brazil, Argentina, and Honduras) and throughout Asia and the Pacific (Japan, Korea, Taiwan, the Philippines, Fiji, and New Caledonia).

These last two paragraphs cover just over 30 years of world-wide church growth. Whew! All I have done is name the countries. Truly just a whirl-wind world tour! I commend to you the reading of either or both of Scherer’s and Howard’s writings for much more interesting detail.

The approval of the motion at the 1960 “General” Conference to change the terminology to “World” Conference was truly both descriptive of the time and prophetic of the events of the future. Interestingly, Scherer observes: “That the resolution prompted almost no questions or discussion from the delegates suggested they did not realize its importance.” (Scherer, p. 264) The church has been on quite a “ride” since then – admittedly, a bit of a rocky ride at some points along the way. And that is what decisions at World Conference are supposed to do – make us think, and make a difference!
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Thanks for reading!