Religion

• Righteousness by faith

• jones and waggoner

• a. t. jones

• e. t. waggoner

• The 1880s saw the doubling of church membership (15,570 to 29,711). However, the outstanding event of the decade was probably the 1888 Minneapolis General Conference session. At that meeting, young editors Alonzo T. Jones and Ellet J. Waggoner presented a series of messages on righteousness by faith. Ellen White approved their emphasis on Christ’s righteousness. Some church leaders feared that the teaching of Jones and Waggoner might detract from what they perceived as the church’s task, to preach the Sabbath and exalt God’s law. Misunderstanding and division clouded the meeting. After the session Ellen White and the two young preachers traveled from coast to coast, preaching the message of righteousness by faith. Many members welcomed the new emphasis; others insisted on retaining a legalistic stance that viewed the law, rather than the cross, as the center of Adventism. Ellen White’s writings after that conference show an even stronger emphasis on the gospel in Christ. For example, “Our only ground of hope is in the righteousness of Christ imputed to us, and in that wrought by His Spirit working in and through us” (SC 63). Minneapolis marked a “renewed emphasis on a message centered on Jesus Christ.
• Dederen, R. 2001, c2000. Vol. 12: Handbook of Seventh-Day Adventist Theology (electronic ed.). Logos Library System;Commentary Reference Series . Review and Herald Publishing Association: Hagerstown, MD