Denominational Organization, 1860–1863

Abstract

Soon after the great disappointment of 1844, it became evident to some of the Sabbatarian Adventists that there was a need for order and organization if the movement was to have a future. At the same time, there were those who argued that by being organized the Church would become Babylon. However, those who saw the necessity for an efficient system of organization prevailed. It was James White who, throughout the controversies surrounding the proposed organization in the late 1850s and early 1860s, was the most vocal proponent of the need for organization. As early as 1849, he proposed some form of formal support for those in ministry of the word.