ADVENTISTS, SEVENTH-DAY. 



investigation led to the conviction that the 

 cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary was the 

 work entered upon at the ending of the 2,300 

 days of Daniel viii, 14, "or, in other words, 

 the commencement of the investigative judg- 

 ment. Thus was the great disappointment of 

 1843 fully accounted for, and Seventh-Day Ad- 

 ventists have ever since believed that the great 

 Advent movement of 1840-'44 was in the or- 

 der of Providence, and an exact fulfillment of 

 the word of God." "The Advent Review and 

 Sabbath Herald," which has continued to be 

 and still is the leading organ of the denomi- 

 nation, was started by Elder James White at 

 Paris, Maine, in 1850, and was afterward re- 

 moved successively to Saratoga Springs and 

 Rochester, N. Y., and to Battle Creek, Mich., 

 its present location, where the Seventh-Day 

 Adventist Publishing Association was incorpo- 

 rated in 1861. The statisticians of the denomi- 

 nation compute the number of believers in its 

 doctrine throughout the world at between 25,- 

 000 and 30,000. They are to be found in every 

 State and Territory of the United States, and in 

 Canada, South America, most of the countries 

 of Europe, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, the 

 Sandwich Island?, and elsewhere. About 300 

 ministers are engaged in spreading throughout 

 the world the knowledge of the doctrine by 

 means of public lectures, Bible - readings, the 

 circulation of books and periodicals, personal 

 visitation, and correspondence. Six publishing 

 houses issue 21 periodicals, in the English, Ger- 

 man, Danish, Swedish, French, and Roumanian 

 languages, and represent an aggregate invested 

 capital of about $400,000. The aggregate valu- 

 ation of school property is about $165,000 ; and 

 the sanitary institutions at Battle Creek, Mich., 

 and St. Helena, Cal., which are managed by 

 incorporated organizations of Seventh-Day Ad- 

 ventists, represent other considerable amounts 

 of invested capital. About 50 State confer- 

 ences and camp - meetings were held during 

 1885, and were attended by probably 125,000 

 persons. A mission has been opened in Aus- 

 tralia, and the English mission has been ex- 

 tended into Scotland, Ireland, and "Wales. The 

 circulation of denominational, health, educa- 

 tional, and temperance literature, is carried on 

 by the International Tract and Missionary So- 

 ciety, assisted by 28 State auxiliary societies 

 and about 10,000 agents. The aggregate num- 

 ber of members in Sabbath- schools is not far 

 from 18,500. The American Health and 

 Temperance Association, with 16 auxiliary 

 associations and about 15,000 members, is 

 another peculiar feature of the Seventh-Day 

 Adventists. 



The statistical reports of the Seventh-Day 

 Adventist Church showed that it had at the 

 end of the year 1885 in 28 conferences in the 

 United States and Canada, and in the British, 

 General Southern, and Scandinavian missions, 

 186 ministers, 151 licentiates, 741 churches, 

 and 20,547 members, and that the whole 

 amount of the contributions to the Systematic 



Benevolence fund was $122,641. These re- 

 turns show increase from the previous year of 

 10 ministers, 6 licentiates, 36 churches, 1,845 

 members, and $17,098 of contributions. Of 

 members outside of the United States, 127 

 were in Canada, and 68 in the British and 142 

 in the Scandinavian missions, while 245 mem- 

 bers were enrolled in the General Southern 

 mission within the United States. The num- 

 bers include only those who are enrolled as 

 members of organized churches. It is esti- 

 mated that there are at least one fourth as 

 many more who, from their isolated situation 

 or other causes, are not yet connected with 

 any churches, and that, if these were included, 

 the whole number of Seventh-Day Adventists 

 would be about 26,000. The International 

 Tract and Missionary Society reported that its 

 receipts had been, including a balance from 

 the previous year, $5,892, and its expenditures 

 $5,849. The General Sabbath -School Associa- 

 tion reported receipts to the General Fund of 

 $134, and to the Publishing Fund of $444. The 

 Seventh-Day Adventist Publishing Association 

 had property and goods valued at $154,580 

 above its indebtedness, and returned a net 

 profit on its year's business of $7,360. It pub- 

 lishes a general denominational newspaper ; a 

 youth's paper; a hygienic journal; Danish, 

 Swedish, and German papers ; a Sabbath-school 

 paper, and a paper devoted to evangelistic 

 work. Its sales for the year amounted to 

 $61,785. Other publishing-houses are at Oak- 

 land, Cal. (value $100,000), where three jour- 

 nals are published; Basel, Switzerland (value 

 $25,000), whence are issued a French, a Ger- 

 man, an Italian, and a Roumanian paper; 

 Christiania, Norway, where two Danish and 

 two Swedish papers are printed; Grimsby, 

 England, and Sumarlide, Victoria, Australia. 



The resources of the Seventh-Day Adventist 

 Educational Society were returned at $46,322 

 above its indebtedness. The principal edu- 

 cational institution is Battle Creek College, 

 Mich., which has classical, scientific, English, 

 biblical, and preparatory departments. Other 

 institutions are South Lancaster Academy, 

 Mass., having academic, biblical, and indus- 

 trial departments, and Healdsburg College, 

 Cal., with five departments. Steps have been 

 taken toward establishing a denominational 

 educational institution in Europe. 



The Health Reform Institute returned a net 

 valuation of $136,841 ; receipts for the year of 

 $87,654, and a year's net profit of $3,529. It 

 maintains a sanitarium, or health institute, at 

 Battle Creek, Mk:h. Another health institute 

 is situated at St. Helena, Cal. 



The General Conference of Seventh-Day 

 Adventists met in its twenty-fourth annual 

 session at Battle Creek, Mich., Nov. 18, 1885. 

 Mr. George I. Butler presided. In the reports 

 on the condition of the denomination, repre- 

 sentations were made concerning mission- 

 ary or evangelistic work in various parts of 

 the United States and Territories, Canada, 



