ASDAH Newsletter
The Association of Seventh-day Adventist Historians
Fall 2014
Brian E. Strayer, Editor
Letter to the Members: “The Times Are A-changin”
Dear ASDAH Members,
In 1963 a musically talented Jewish boy, born under the name Robert Zimmerman, took up his guitar and, influenced by Scottish and Irish ballads, composed a protest song that became ever more popular during the Civil Rights and Vietnam War era. Alluding to passages from Ecclesiastes and Mark, this musician, singer, songwriter, and artist, better known as Bob Dylan, caught the attention of American youth with the following words (those over 60 may sing along):
“Come writers and critics
Who prophesize with your pen
And keep your eyes wide
The chance won’t come again
And don’t speak too soon
For the wheel’s still in spin
And there’s no tellin’ who
That it’s namin’
For the loser now
Will be later to win
For the times they are a-changing’…
As the present now
Will later be past
The order is
Rapidly fadin’
And the first one now
Will later be last
For the times they are changing’.”
We historians who write about the past must also be prepared to embrace change and to “move with the times.” The newsletter will alert you to several changes to the Association of SDA Historians. For example, many of you are already aware that ASDAH now has a presence on the World-Wide Web at its homepage: www.asdah.org. Once you get past other ASDAH’s (such as the Association for Size Diversity and Health), you’ll discover that our webmaster, Dr. Bruce Lo in Wisconsin, has designed an attractive, professional, easy-to-navigate webpage that takes you to topics such as “About Us,” “News & Information,” “Conferences,” “Research,” “Useful Links,” “Contact Us,” and even a “Blog.” The times they are a-changing’!
Another progressive step that ASDAH will take in 2015 is to switch from a hardcopy newsletter to an on-line one. In fact, you now hold in your hands the final paper issue! Several factors have brought about this change. First, rising expense: it currently costs about $400 to duplicate and mail about 225 copies of the questionnaire form and the newsletter across North America and to two dozen addresses worldwide. For many years, the NAD Department of Education has paid the bill, but in 2013 Dr. Gerald Kovalski informed us that they no longer could do so. Few college History Departments can meet that expense, so this final paper issue is being brought to you by a consortium of generous individuals contributing funds through ASDAH. As editor, I want to thank each one of those who has contributed so far.
Second, in order to receive the USPS bulk rate here in the U.S., we need a minimum of 200 pieces of mail. But recent deaths and several members moving away without sending us their forwarding addresses have dropped us below that minimum, again driving up mailing costs.
Third, the cost of duplicating this newsletter through LithoTech at Andrews University has also risen. Therefore, your officers have decided that the fall 2015 issue will be available to you ONLY if you have sent your e-mail address to our listserv, or if you wish to access it through the ASDAH website. The times they are a-changing’!
Yet another forward move for ASDAH has been the holding of not one but three conferences within our normal triennial cycle (one at Union College in March 2013, another at the GC headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland in January 2014, and a third at Hong Kong Adventist College on October 30-31, 2014, for which see www.adventisminchina.org or contact Bruce Lo at [email protected]. I invite you to read Edward Allen’s insightful report on the January conference below. The times they are a-changing’!
On a much sadder note, in the recent passing of Richard Schwarz, Fred Hoyt, and Gary Land— three men whose impressive body of works provided all of us with a model for a more scholarly approach to Adventist history— we recognize that the times are also a-changing’ when we lose such eminent pillars in our professions. Tributes to Schwarz and Hoyt appeared in the 2013 ASDAH Newsletter; a life sketch and personal tribute to Gary Land appear below.
In an effort to clarify our identity, purpose, and mission, a committee has also revised, updated, and expanded the ASDAH Constitution. I urge you to read it over carefully. Then please send your comments and approval or disapproval directly to our president, Dr. Edward Allen at [email protected] by September 30, 2014.
Finally, as I approach retirement in the spring of 2016 and after forty-two years in Adventist education (yes, I was barely twenty-four when I began!) and nearly twenty years as contributor, associate editor, and editor of this newsletter, it’s time for one of you to assume the mantle of editorship.
Many of our younger members with far greater skills in electronic media than I have could carry this newsletter to amazing new heights in content and design, with creative artwork, full-color photos, web links, and new content ideas. I was born in the era of the manual typewriter, grew up using spirit master duplicating machines, and finally adapted to Xerox copiers and computers. But the times are a-changin’, so I hope one of you reading this issue will volunteer to be the next editor at our spring 2016 conference at La Sierra University.
Yours for the best in history,
Brian E. Strayer, Editor
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SUMMARY OF THE CONFERENCE ON ADVENTISM AND ADVENTIST HISTORY IN SILVER SPRING, MARYLAND
January 3-5, 2014
[By Dr. Edward Allen, President, ASDAH]
In my opinion, the conference on “Adventism and Adventist History: Sesquicentennial Reflections” revealed that Adventist historiography has matured. The conference venue was a meeting room in the General Conference building in Silver Spring, Maryland. Microphones at each seat facilitated discussion after each presentation.
The occasion for the conference was suggested by the fact that the American Historical Association (AHA) met in Washington D.C. during the first weekend in January 2014. The sessions were co-sponsored by the General Conference Office of Archives, Statistics, and Research (ASTR) and the Association of Seventh-day Adventist Historians (ASDAH). Both the venue and the sponsorship suggested that the Adventist Church leadership and professional Adventist historians are not threatened by one another and were, in fact, able to mutually work together. The papers presented are available at the ASTR website. The URL address is: http://documents.adventistarchives.org/conferences/ASTR/Forms/RootFolder.aspx.
The meetings began with greetings and introduction by David Trim, Director of the ASTR. Ted Wilson, GC president, greeted participants by video. The first set of presentations dealt with basic issues of Adventist historiography. Daniel Reynaud of Avondale College described the development of Adventist historiography over the past 150 years.
He highlighted how early Adventists emphasized three elements in their system of belief: evidence, scripture, and history. For them, history was a means of demonstrating the engagement of God in human affairs. Reynaud described how James White, Uriah Smith, and A.T. Jones used history to support their theology. Obviously they were not historians interested in a critical inquiry into the past. Professional historians changed this dynamic as they taught at Adventist colleges, especially during the 1970s in the context of new debates about the legacy of Ellen G. White. In particular, the late Gary Land challenged Adventists to develop a concept of history that sought for the best within historical scholarship while at the same time retaining a Christian framework. Reynaud concluded that “recent scholarship has demonstrated that sound historical methodology and a firm commitment to Adventism’s historical aims and beliefs are highly compatible.”
I gave a presentation on Adventist uses of Charles Beecher’s historiography. Beecher’s sermon opposing “creedalism” was quoted numerous times in early Adventist sources. He used historical references to support his idea that the use of creeds as authoritative tests was the first step toward apostasy in American Protestantism. Early Adventists used Beecher’s analysis to reinforce their belief that the Bible should be their only creed and to support their description of the popular apostate churches.
Nicholas Miller presented a paper that described a spectrum of philosophical approaches to history. Addressing issues raised by Reynaud, Miller looked at the material from a systematic (as opposed to a historical) approach. He described a continuum of approaches to history with a closed secular perspective on the one hand and a closed fideist perspective on the other extreme. In between these two positions he offered three other intermediary approaches: a critical approach to history that was open to transcendent or non-material causes; an approach that uses critical historical categories to argue for religious ideas; and an approach that uses critical categories but is guided by confessional purposes and revealed sources. He used examples from both within and without the Adventist Church to illustrate each of these approaches. Following Miller’s paper, a spirited discussion ensued about the Adventist authors that Miller used to illustrate his ideas.
All Adventist historians should carefully read the papers by both Reynaud and Miller because they provide an up-do-date description of the current state of historical studies within the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
Another significant session dealt with history and Adventist education. John Wesley Taylor V described the life of Mahlon Olsen, one of Adventism’s earliest professionally-trained educators, who earned a Ph.D. in English from the University of Michigan in 1909. Of particular interest was Olsen’s dismissal from Union College, due in part to his requirement that students read what some considered as objectionable literature. Lisa Diller discussed her findings about the teaching of Adventist history in North American denominational colleges. She found that Adventist history classes taught by historians tend to use Schwarz and Greenleaf’s book Light Bearers whereas those taught by theologians tend to use books by George Knight. Douglas Morgan and Michael Campbell discussed the possible need for a new denominational textbook aimed more at freshmen and sophomores (Light Bearers was written for juniors and seniors), with a general consensus among participants that such a project is highly desirable.
Perhaps the most notable aspect of the discussion about Ellen White was the introduction of the new Ellen G. White Encyclopedia. While the editors of the project, Denis Fortin and Jerry Moon, could not be present in person, technology allowed them to appear by video to describe the development of the project, including their careful historical approach that will make this volume a significant work of scholarship.
Other presentations gave fascinating glimpses into little-known aspects of Adventist history around the world. Of particular note was Benjamin Baker’s discussion of Ellen White’s relationship to Blacks and Karl Wilcox’s impassioned description of a forgotten Adventist’s attitude toward tramps.
Altogether, the conference revealed a wide range of Adventist scholarship about denominational history. From the broad sweep of historiography to a forgotten diary, the conference showed the careful work of historical investigation that is now taking place among Adventist historians encompassing a wide variety of solid historical approaches.
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IN REMEMBRANCE
The Adventist historian Gary Gene Land was born under the name Gary Booth in San Francisco on August 23, 1944, to Elliott Booth, a longshoreman and Navy veteran, and Virginia May (Bradley) Booth, a nurse. After the couple divorced, Gary lived briefly with his father and stepmother until they too separated. Then for a short time he lived with his Aunt Bernice and Uncle Bo. By age three he had been sent to live with his mother’s sister, Barbara Pennington, and her husband who lived in Riverside, California. But when they decided to place him in an orphanage, his Uncle Bob Bradley and Aunt Audrey, SDAs of Napa, adopted him and sent him to kindergarten as Gary Bradley. Within a couple of years, however, as their family grew, they sent Gary to live with Audrey’s father and stepmother, Aubrey and Thelma (Gillespie) Land, SDAs who lived nearby. When their marriage ended a few years later, Gary stayed with Thelma, becoming Gary Land.
Gary attended school at Napa Junior Academy and in 1962 graduated from Monterey Bay Academy. From 1962 to 1966 he attended Pacific Union College where Dr. Walter Utt inspired in him a love of history. In 1966 he received his B.A. in History at PUC. He then attended the University of California at Santa Barbara where he earned an M.A. in History in 1967 and a Ph.D. in History in 1973, specializing in American intellectual and cultural history.
In 1970 he had joined the History and Political Science Department at Andrews University where he would teach two generations of students over the next forty years, twenty-two of them as Chair of the Department. On August 19, 1973, Gary married Edith Marie Stone, and together they had two children: Jeffery Alexander, born October 14, 1978, and Jessamyn Elizabeth, born March 1, 1981.
Professor Land was a prolific scholar, authoring eight books and contributing to 137 other books and publications on Adventist, American, and baseball history. His articles appeared in the Journal of Adventist Education, College and University Dialogue, Spectrum, Adventist Heritage, The American Historical Review, among many others.
He also served as a graduate programs director and assistant dean in the College of Arts and Sciences. Andrews University bestowed on him its prestigious J. N. Andrews Award and the Researcher of the Year Award for his outstanding contributions to the University. Active in community service, Gary was a member of the Berrien County Historical Association’s Board of Directors; a children’s Sabbath school director and teacher at Pioneer Memorial Church; a member of the Spectrum editorial board; and served on the organizing committee for the Ellen White Project.
Gary retired in 2010 as Emeritus Professor of History and spent the next four years battling intestinal cancer with chemotherapy, radiation, and acupuncture. During 2013-14, he had the satisfaction of completing his last three books: a biography of Uriah Smith (forthcoming with the Review and Herald Publishing Association), a greatly expanded second edition of his Dictionary of Seventh-day Adventists (with Scarecrow Press), and the coedited Ellen Harmon White: American Prophet (with Oxford University Press).
Gary passed to his rest at the St. Joseph Medical Center in Mishawaka, Indiana, on Sabbath afternoon, April 26, 2014, surrounded by his wife Edi, his daughter Jessamyn, and his daughter-in-law Cassandra Land. He will be remembered as one who held a deep love of baseball, music, books, stamp collecting, model building, and thought-provoking conversations with friends.
[Submitted by Brian E. Strayer and John R. Nay, former students and colleagues]
A PERSONAL TRIBUTE*
[By Brian E. Strayer]
While working on my M.A. in History at Andrews University, I was a graduate student reader for Gary Land in 1973-74. In my spare time, I helped him and Edi build their house in the summer of 1974 (Edi paid me with carrot cake). Over the years, I also became a surrogate uncle to Jessamyn and Jeffrey.
I became Gary’s colleague in 1983 when he invited me to join the Department. For three decades we shared adjacent offices in Nethery Hall. He encouraged me to develop new courses in British, French, and women’s history and in European criminal justice. We presented papers together at conferences of the Association of SDA Historians. We discussed the books we were reading and writing; we proofread each other’s manuscripts; and we kept the Department busy taking us to restaurants to celebrate the books we wrote.
I grew to appreciate Gary’s sensitivity as he counseled me regarding difficult students, grading conundrums, and areas for my improvement. Gary was the oil on the Department’s sometimes troubled waters. Many Friday afternoons, when everyone else had left the building, he and I had delightful conversations about Adventist history, university politics, Edi’s frustrations with her Benton Harbor delinquents, Jeff’s struggles at Andrews Academy, Jessamyn’s lack of time orientation, and how we might get rich quick without being fired. Instead of Tuesdays with Morrie, I had Fridays with Gary when we bonded as friends and grew professionally. During his final illness, we continued those conversations every couple of weeks at his hospital bedside or in his home on Sabbath afternoons. Despite my best intentions to “keep it short,” our dialogues often lasted two or three hours.
In the movie “The Last Samurai,” as the Japanese warrior Katsumoto lies dying on the battlefield, his former rival and new friend, Captain Nathan Algren, tells him, “I shall miss our conversations.” I too will sorely miss those dialogues with Gary. But when we reach our heavenly home, where disease and pain and death can no longer interrupt us, Gary and I will resume our conversations.
*[To view the complete memorial service for Gary Land at PMC before November 30 go to: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/7343695/Gary%20Land%20Memorial%20Service.m4v]
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Constitution of the Association of Seventh-day Adventist Historians
(Revised, June 2014)
ARTICLE I: NAME
The name of this organization shall be the ASSOCIATION FOR SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST HISTRIANS, hereinafter referred to as the ASSOCIATION.
ARTICLE II: OBJECTIVES, GOALS, AND PURPOSES
The purposes of the ASSOCIATION shall be to
i. provide intellectual and social fellowship among its members;
ii. encourage scholarly pursuits in history and its related fields particularly with
reference to the Seventh-day Adventist tradition;
iii. foster the exchange of creative teaching methodologies, curriculum and assessment;
iv. provide a forum for the sharing of experience and expertise in the administration of
history departments;
v. promote the study and use of history within the Adventist church.
Means of implementing these purposes shall include the presentation of scholarly papers and discussions by members and invited guests and the preparation of ASSOCIATION publications.
ARTICLE III: MEMERSHIP AND DUES
Any person interested in the ASSOCIATION and accepting its objectives shall be eligible for membership. Dues, in an amount determined in advance by the Executive Committee, shall be payable at the time of the Triennial Meeting. Members whose dues are currently paid shall be entitled to full rights of participation in all events sponsored by the ASSOCIATION until the beginning of the next Triennial Meeting. ASSOCIATION members shall receive copies of papers presented at the Triennial Meeting and all newsletters published during the ASSOCIATION year.
ARTICLE IV: MEETINGS
The ASSOCIATION shall hold a Triennial Meeting (normally on an Adventist campus on a rotational basis) to conduct the business of the ASSOCIATION and to feature presentations and events that foster its purposes and objectives. It shall hold such other meetings as may be called by the Executive Committee.
ARTICLE V: OFFICERS
The officers shall be President, Vice President/President-elect, Secretary/Treasurer, and Newsletter Editor. The Vice President/President-elect shall succeed to the office of President. At each Triennial Meeting a new Vice President shall be elected and other vacancies in the Executive Committee shall be filled. The Secretary-Treasurer and the Newsletter Editor shall hold continuous appointment unless a change is recommended by a majority vote of the Executive Committee or the Nominating Committee. Officers shall assume their positions at the end of the Triennial Meeting and shall hold office until the end of the next Triennial Meeting.
ARTICLE VI: ELECTIONS
At the Triennial Meeting a Nominating Committee of five members shall be elected by secret ballot from among ten nominees named from the floor. The members of the Nominating Committee shall choose one member to serve as its chair. The Nominating Committee shall present two candidates for each vacant office. The Nominating Committee shall attempt to maintain a balance of geographical representation within the Executive Committee. Officers shall be selected by a simple majority of members present and voting. The election shall be by secret ballot.
ARTICLE VII: COMMITTEES
The Executive Committee shall consist of the four officers and an elected member of the ASSOCIATION. The ASSOCIATION shall appoint at each Triennial session a Steering Committee comprising a representative of the next host institution, (chair), a representative of the past host institution, and three other members to plan for and manage the forthcoming Triennial meeting. The Vice President/President-elect shall serve as an ex officio member of the steering committee. Other standing and/or ad hoc committees may be established as deemed necessary by the Executive Committee.
ARTICLE VIII: AMENDMENTS
Proposals to amend this constitution shall be circulated by the Executive Committee to the members at least thirty days before the date of the meeting at which action is expected. Approval shall require at least a two-thirds vote of the members present and voting at any such meeting.
BYLAWS OF THE ASSOCIATION FOR SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST HISTORIANS
ARTICLE I: PRESIDENT
The President shall:
A. Provide active leadership in the implementation of the stated objectives, goals, and purposes of the ASSOCIATION;
B. Preside at all business meetings of the ASSOCIATION setting the agenda in consultation with the secretary and supervise the triennial conducting of elections;
C. Preside at meetings of the Executive Committee setting the agenda in consultation with the secretary;
D. Coordinate the work of the Executive Committee and any special projects determined by business meetings of the ASSOCIATION;
E. Originate or approve all publicity concerning the ASSOCIATION ensuring the widest possible promotion of the Association and its meetings;
F. Ensure that the ASSOCIATION website is maintained with current information and that it functions as an archive for the papers presented.
ARTICLE II: PRESIDENT-ELECT
The President-elect shall be appointed from the representatives of the next host institution and shall:
A. Serve on the Executive Committee;
B. Act in place of the President in the absence of the President;
C. Serve as chair of the steering committee for planning the program for the Triennial Meeting.
ARTICLE III: SECRETARY/TREASURER
The Secretary/Treasurer shall:
A. Provide for the maintenance and safe-keeping of all records of the Association, including a membership list, financial records, minutes, Triennial Meeting proceedings, and all Association publications;
B. Arrange for the preparation of such reports and records as the Executive Committee shall request;
C. Work in conjunction with the Newsletter Editor to report official actions to members within ninety days after their enactment at any duly called meeting;
D. Send notices of meetings to members not less than nine months in advance;
E. Make available programs and tentative agendas to members at the beginning of the Triennial Meeting and ensure that the current constitution and bylaws are published for triennial review in the program brochure;
F. Provide for the banking and accounting of ASSOCIATION funds;
G. Serve as secretary of the Executive Committee.
ARTICLE IV: NEWSLETTER EDITOR
The Newsletter Editor shall:
A. Serve on the Executive Committee;
B. Be responsible for editing and publishing at least two newsletters for posting to Association Members each year;
C. Solicit news items pertinent to the interests of the ASSOCIATION and include them in a newsletter to appear within ninety days after the Triennial Meeting and not less than nine months before the Triennial Meeting.
ARTICLE V: EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
The Executive Committee shall be charged with the general planning and execution of all matters of concern to the Association between its Triennial Meetings. Proposals for new committees or additional officers or other personnel must first have the approval of the Executive Committee before being presented to the membership for consideration.
ARTICLE VI: AMENDMENTS
Proposals to amend these bylaws shall be circulated by the Executive Committee to the members prior to the date of the meeting at which action is expected. Approval shall require at least a majority vote of the members present and voting at any such meeting.
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Colleges, Universities, & Institutional Reports
Adventist International Institute for Advanced Studies (AIIAS)
The Historical/Theological Studies Department at AIIAS has two professors who specialize in church history: Oleg Zhigankov (joined in 2011), who specializes in Early Church, Medieval, and Reformation Studies, and Michael Campbell (joined in 2013), who teaches Seventh-day Adventist Studies. Oleg recently led a doctoral seminar on the Anabaptists, directed a tour of Moscow and St. Petersburg, Russia, and published a History of Christianity in Eastern Europe with Source of Life Publishing House. Mike gave two papers during the past year: one on the development of Adventist statements of belief at the Adventist Society for Religious Studies and another on the development of Ellen White’s Testimonies for the joint ASDAH/GC Archives Conference in January 2014.
Andrews University
In 2014 Brian Strayer helped the Department achieve accreditation for its Social Studies major with its SPA, the National Council for Social Studies. In July the Review and Herald press published his book J. N. Loughborough: The Last of the Adventist Pioneers as volume eight in the Adventist Pioneer Biographies set. He and Linda Mack continue their collaboration on a biography of Dr. Blythe Owen, an internationally known composer and musician who taught at Walla Walla College and Andrews University for many years. He is currently writing a biography of John Byington, Methodist-Episcopal circuit-riding preacher in Vermont and New York, a founder of the Liberty Party, the Wesleyan Methodist Church, the Anti-Slavery Society in New York, and the first General Conference president in 1863-65. Kathryn Silva, who has taught U.S. History for four years, has gone to teach African American History at Utica College in Utica, New York. Her replacement this fall, Stephanie Carpenter from Murray State University in Kentucky, specializes in women’s history and the history of the western frontier. John Markovic is still working on his book on the emergent church movement in America and its implications for Seventh-day Adventism.
General Conference of SDAs
At the GC Archives, director David Trim organized a conference with the theme “Adventist History and Historiography: Sesquicentennial Perspectives” at the GC in January 2014. With co-author Benjamin Baker, he recently wrote Fundamental Belief 6: Creation as General Conference Finding Aid, no. 1.
Kingsway College
Connie Solomon, who has just completed her M.A. in Education, Curriculum and Instruction from La Sierra University, teaches in the History and English as a Second Language departments, although she states that teaching Canadian, U.S., and world history is her passion.
Union College
George Gibson will retire at the end of the 2014-15 school year. Ben Tyner hopes to complete his dissertation, “A Distant Conquest of Souls: The Use of Martyrs in Second Empire France, 1852-1871,” by December of 2014. Edward Allen has completed paperwork to register and incorporate ASDAH as a legal entity. He will give the keynote address at the Adventism in China Conference at Hong Kong Adventist College in October.
Washington Adventist University
Doug Morgan wrote six articles in Denis Fortin and Jerry Moon’s Encyclopedia of Ellen G. White (2014), a chapter entitled “Society” in Terrie Aamodt, Gary Land, and Ron Numbers’ book Ellen Harmon White: American Prophet (2014), and presented a paper, “WWI and the Evolution of American Adventist Attitudes Toward Military Service,” at the Institute of Adventist Studies International Symposium on the Impact of WWI on Seventh-day Adventism at Friedensau Adventist University in May 2014.
Independent Scholars
Semi-retired in Vallejo, California, Bill Cash and his wife enjoy traveling, renovating their 1890s Victorian home, and playing with their year-old twin granddaughters Elise and Emery. Bill is a consultant and research contractor for the GC Office of Archives, Statistics and Research and participates in accreditation site visits for WASC.
Floyd Greenleaf, an active retired historian in Port Charlotte, Florida, has spent three years revising and updating his history of SDA work in Latin America. A Land of Hope has recently been published in English, Portuguese, and Spanish by Casa Publicadora Brasileira; in addition an e-book is available through the GC Department of Archives, Statistics and Research. This update of his 1992 book also includes 88 rare photographs not found in The SDA Church in Latin America and the Caribbean.
After twenty-nine years of teaching social studies in Georgia and Alabama (fourteen of those at Atlanta Adventist Academy), Stan Hobbs is now Superintendent of Education for the Alabama-Mississippi Conference and in his spare time reads history books.
In Riverside, California, Maurice Hodgen has completed his book Master of the Mission Inn: Frank A. Miller, A Life, which was published in January 2014 and has already received a positive review in Kirkus. Copies are available for sale on Amazon.com.
Academy Teachers
Richard Orgwela, who has taught four years at two Lake Union Conference academies, returned to Andrews University in July to complete a Master of Arts Degree in Curriculum and Instruction.
*Seven ASDAH Conferences have been held at the following venues: Southern College (1995); Walla Walla College at Portland, OR (1998); Andrews University (2001); Pacific Union College (2004); Oakwood College (2007); Washington Adventist University (2010); and Union College (2013).
Association of Seventh-day Adventist Historians
Editor
Brian E. Strayer
Assistant Editor
Carmelita Arthur
President
Edward Allen
Secretary-Treasurer
Benjamin Tyner
The Association of Seventh-day Adventist Historians
Fall 2014
Brian E. Strayer, Editor
Letter to the Members: “The Times Are A-changin”
Dear ASDAH Members,
In 1963 a musically talented Jewish boy, born under the name Robert Zimmerman, took up his guitar and, influenced by Scottish and Irish ballads, composed a protest song that became ever more popular during the Civil Rights and Vietnam War era. Alluding to passages from Ecclesiastes and Mark, this musician, singer, songwriter, and artist, better known as Bob Dylan, caught the attention of American youth with the following words (those over 60 may sing along):
“Come writers and critics
Who prophesize with your pen
And keep your eyes wide
The chance won’t come again
And don’t speak too soon
For the wheel’s still in spin
And there’s no tellin’ who
That it’s namin’
For the loser now
Will be later to win
For the times they are a-changing’…
As the present now
Will later be past
The order is
Rapidly fadin’
And the first one now
Will later be last
For the times they are changing’.”
We historians who write about the past must also be prepared to embrace change and to “move with the times.” The newsletter will alert you to several changes to the Association of SDA Historians. For example, many of you are already aware that ASDAH now has a presence on the World-Wide Web at its homepage: www.asdah.org. Once you get past other ASDAH’s (such as the Association for Size Diversity and Health), you’ll discover that our webmaster, Dr. Bruce Lo in Wisconsin, has designed an attractive, professional, easy-to-navigate webpage that takes you to topics such as “About Us,” “News & Information,” “Conferences,” “Research,” “Useful Links,” “Contact Us,” and even a “Blog.” The times they are a-changing’!
Another progressive step that ASDAH will take in 2015 is to switch from a hardcopy newsletter to an on-line one. In fact, you now hold in your hands the final paper issue! Several factors have brought about this change. First, rising expense: it currently costs about $400 to duplicate and mail about 225 copies of the questionnaire form and the newsletter across North America and to two dozen addresses worldwide. For many years, the NAD Department of Education has paid the bill, but in 2013 Dr. Gerald Kovalski informed us that they no longer could do so. Few college History Departments can meet that expense, so this final paper issue is being brought to you by a consortium of generous individuals contributing funds through ASDAH. As editor, I want to thank each one of those who has contributed so far.
Second, in order to receive the USPS bulk rate here in the U.S., we need a minimum of 200 pieces of mail. But recent deaths and several members moving away without sending us their forwarding addresses have dropped us below that minimum, again driving up mailing costs.
Third, the cost of duplicating this newsletter through LithoTech at Andrews University has also risen. Therefore, your officers have decided that the fall 2015 issue will be available to you ONLY if you have sent your e-mail address to our listserv, or if you wish to access it through the ASDAH website. The times they are a-changing’!
Yet another forward move for ASDAH has been the holding of not one but three conferences within our normal triennial cycle (one at Union College in March 2013, another at the GC headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland in January 2014, and a third at Hong Kong Adventist College on October 30-31, 2014, for which see www.adventisminchina.org or contact Bruce Lo at [email protected]. I invite you to read Edward Allen’s insightful report on the January conference below. The times they are a-changing’!
On a much sadder note, in the recent passing of Richard Schwarz, Fred Hoyt, and Gary Land— three men whose impressive body of works provided all of us with a model for a more scholarly approach to Adventist history— we recognize that the times are also a-changing’ when we lose such eminent pillars in our professions. Tributes to Schwarz and Hoyt appeared in the 2013 ASDAH Newsletter; a life sketch and personal tribute to Gary Land appear below.
In an effort to clarify our identity, purpose, and mission, a committee has also revised, updated, and expanded the ASDAH Constitution. I urge you to read it over carefully. Then please send your comments and approval or disapproval directly to our president, Dr. Edward Allen at [email protected] by September 30, 2014.
Finally, as I approach retirement in the spring of 2016 and after forty-two years in Adventist education (yes, I was barely twenty-four when I began!) and nearly twenty years as contributor, associate editor, and editor of this newsletter, it’s time for one of you to assume the mantle of editorship.
Many of our younger members with far greater skills in electronic media than I have could carry this newsletter to amazing new heights in content and design, with creative artwork, full-color photos, web links, and new content ideas. I was born in the era of the manual typewriter, grew up using spirit master duplicating machines, and finally adapted to Xerox copiers and computers. But the times are a-changin’, so I hope one of you reading this issue will volunteer to be the next editor at our spring 2016 conference at La Sierra University.
Yours for the best in history,
Brian E. Strayer, Editor
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
SUMMARY OF THE CONFERENCE ON ADVENTISM AND ADVENTIST HISTORY IN SILVER SPRING, MARYLAND
January 3-5, 2014
[By Dr. Edward Allen, President, ASDAH]
In my opinion, the conference on “Adventism and Adventist History: Sesquicentennial Reflections” revealed that Adventist historiography has matured. The conference venue was a meeting room in the General Conference building in Silver Spring, Maryland. Microphones at each seat facilitated discussion after each presentation.
The occasion for the conference was suggested by the fact that the American Historical Association (AHA) met in Washington D.C. during the first weekend in January 2014. The sessions were co-sponsored by the General Conference Office of Archives, Statistics, and Research (ASTR) and the Association of Seventh-day Adventist Historians (ASDAH). Both the venue and the sponsorship suggested that the Adventist Church leadership and professional Adventist historians are not threatened by one another and were, in fact, able to mutually work together. The papers presented are available at the ASTR website. The URL address is: http://documents.adventistarchives.org/conferences/ASTR/Forms/RootFolder.aspx.
The meetings began with greetings and introduction by David Trim, Director of the ASTR. Ted Wilson, GC president, greeted participants by video. The first set of presentations dealt with basic issues of Adventist historiography. Daniel Reynaud of Avondale College described the development of Adventist historiography over the past 150 years.
He highlighted how early Adventists emphasized three elements in their system of belief: evidence, scripture, and history. For them, history was a means of demonstrating the engagement of God in human affairs. Reynaud described how James White, Uriah Smith, and A.T. Jones used history to support their theology. Obviously they were not historians interested in a critical inquiry into the past. Professional historians changed this dynamic as they taught at Adventist colleges, especially during the 1970s in the context of new debates about the legacy of Ellen G. White. In particular, the late Gary Land challenged Adventists to develop a concept of history that sought for the best within historical scholarship while at the same time retaining a Christian framework. Reynaud concluded that “recent scholarship has demonstrated that sound historical methodology and a firm commitment to Adventism’s historical aims and beliefs are highly compatible.”
I gave a presentation on Adventist uses of Charles Beecher’s historiography. Beecher’s sermon opposing “creedalism” was quoted numerous times in early Adventist sources. He used historical references to support his idea that the use of creeds as authoritative tests was the first step toward apostasy in American Protestantism. Early Adventists used Beecher’s analysis to reinforce their belief that the Bible should be their only creed and to support their description of the popular apostate churches.
Nicholas Miller presented a paper that described a spectrum of philosophical approaches to history. Addressing issues raised by Reynaud, Miller looked at the material from a systematic (as opposed to a historical) approach. He described a continuum of approaches to history with a closed secular perspective on the one hand and a closed fideist perspective on the other extreme. In between these two positions he offered three other intermediary approaches: a critical approach to history that was open to transcendent or non-material causes; an approach that uses critical historical categories to argue for religious ideas; and an approach that uses critical categories but is guided by confessional purposes and revealed sources. He used examples from both within and without the Adventist Church to illustrate each of these approaches. Following Miller’s paper, a spirited discussion ensued about the Adventist authors that Miller used to illustrate his ideas.
All Adventist historians should carefully read the papers by both Reynaud and Miller because they provide an up-do-date description of the current state of historical studies within the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
Another significant session dealt with history and Adventist education. John Wesley Taylor V described the life of Mahlon Olsen, one of Adventism’s earliest professionally-trained educators, who earned a Ph.D. in English from the University of Michigan in 1909. Of particular interest was Olsen’s dismissal from Union College, due in part to his requirement that students read what some considered as objectionable literature. Lisa Diller discussed her findings about the teaching of Adventist history in North American denominational colleges. She found that Adventist history classes taught by historians tend to use Schwarz and Greenleaf’s book Light Bearers whereas those taught by theologians tend to use books by George Knight. Douglas Morgan and Michael Campbell discussed the possible need for a new denominational textbook aimed more at freshmen and sophomores (Light Bearers was written for juniors and seniors), with a general consensus among participants that such a project is highly desirable.
Perhaps the most notable aspect of the discussion about Ellen White was the introduction of the new Ellen G. White Encyclopedia. While the editors of the project, Denis Fortin and Jerry Moon, could not be present in person, technology allowed them to appear by video to describe the development of the project, including their careful historical approach that will make this volume a significant work of scholarship.
Other presentations gave fascinating glimpses into little-known aspects of Adventist history around the world. Of particular note was Benjamin Baker’s discussion of Ellen White’s relationship to Blacks and Karl Wilcox’s impassioned description of a forgotten Adventist’s attitude toward tramps.
Altogether, the conference revealed a wide range of Adventist scholarship about denominational history. From the broad sweep of historiography to a forgotten diary, the conference showed the careful work of historical investigation that is now taking place among Adventist historians encompassing a wide variety of solid historical approaches.
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IN REMEMBRANCE
The Adventist historian Gary Gene Land was born under the name Gary Booth in San Francisco on August 23, 1944, to Elliott Booth, a longshoreman and Navy veteran, and Virginia May (Bradley) Booth, a nurse. After the couple divorced, Gary lived briefly with his father and stepmother until they too separated. Then for a short time he lived with his Aunt Bernice and Uncle Bo. By age three he had been sent to live with his mother’s sister, Barbara Pennington, and her husband who lived in Riverside, California. But when they decided to place him in an orphanage, his Uncle Bob Bradley and Aunt Audrey, SDAs of Napa, adopted him and sent him to kindergarten as Gary Bradley. Within a couple of years, however, as their family grew, they sent Gary to live with Audrey’s father and stepmother, Aubrey and Thelma (Gillespie) Land, SDAs who lived nearby. When their marriage ended a few years later, Gary stayed with Thelma, becoming Gary Land.
Gary attended school at Napa Junior Academy and in 1962 graduated from Monterey Bay Academy. From 1962 to 1966 he attended Pacific Union College where Dr. Walter Utt inspired in him a love of history. In 1966 he received his B.A. in History at PUC. He then attended the University of California at Santa Barbara where he earned an M.A. in History in 1967 and a Ph.D. in History in 1973, specializing in American intellectual and cultural history.
In 1970 he had joined the History and Political Science Department at Andrews University where he would teach two generations of students over the next forty years, twenty-two of them as Chair of the Department. On August 19, 1973, Gary married Edith Marie Stone, and together they had two children: Jeffery Alexander, born October 14, 1978, and Jessamyn Elizabeth, born March 1, 1981.
Professor Land was a prolific scholar, authoring eight books and contributing to 137 other books and publications on Adventist, American, and baseball history. His articles appeared in the Journal of Adventist Education, College and University Dialogue, Spectrum, Adventist Heritage, The American Historical Review, among many others.
He also served as a graduate programs director and assistant dean in the College of Arts and Sciences. Andrews University bestowed on him its prestigious J. N. Andrews Award and the Researcher of the Year Award for his outstanding contributions to the University. Active in community service, Gary was a member of the Berrien County Historical Association’s Board of Directors; a children’s Sabbath school director and teacher at Pioneer Memorial Church; a member of the Spectrum editorial board; and served on the organizing committee for the Ellen White Project.
Gary retired in 2010 as Emeritus Professor of History and spent the next four years battling intestinal cancer with chemotherapy, radiation, and acupuncture. During 2013-14, he had the satisfaction of completing his last three books: a biography of Uriah Smith (forthcoming with the Review and Herald Publishing Association), a greatly expanded second edition of his Dictionary of Seventh-day Adventists (with Scarecrow Press), and the coedited Ellen Harmon White: American Prophet (with Oxford University Press).
Gary passed to his rest at the St. Joseph Medical Center in Mishawaka, Indiana, on Sabbath afternoon, April 26, 2014, surrounded by his wife Edi, his daughter Jessamyn, and his daughter-in-law Cassandra Land. He will be remembered as one who held a deep love of baseball, music, books, stamp collecting, model building, and thought-provoking conversations with friends.
[Submitted by Brian E. Strayer and John R. Nay, former students and colleagues]
A PERSONAL TRIBUTE*
[By Brian E. Strayer]
While working on my M.A. in History at Andrews University, I was a graduate student reader for Gary Land in 1973-74. In my spare time, I helped him and Edi build their house in the summer of 1974 (Edi paid me with carrot cake). Over the years, I also became a surrogate uncle to Jessamyn and Jeffrey.
I became Gary’s colleague in 1983 when he invited me to join the Department. For three decades we shared adjacent offices in Nethery Hall. He encouraged me to develop new courses in British, French, and women’s history and in European criminal justice. We presented papers together at conferences of the Association of SDA Historians. We discussed the books we were reading and writing; we proofread each other’s manuscripts; and we kept the Department busy taking us to restaurants to celebrate the books we wrote.
I grew to appreciate Gary’s sensitivity as he counseled me regarding difficult students, grading conundrums, and areas for my improvement. Gary was the oil on the Department’s sometimes troubled waters. Many Friday afternoons, when everyone else had left the building, he and I had delightful conversations about Adventist history, university politics, Edi’s frustrations with her Benton Harbor delinquents, Jeff’s struggles at Andrews Academy, Jessamyn’s lack of time orientation, and how we might get rich quick without being fired. Instead of Tuesdays with Morrie, I had Fridays with Gary when we bonded as friends and grew professionally. During his final illness, we continued those conversations every couple of weeks at his hospital bedside or in his home on Sabbath afternoons. Despite my best intentions to “keep it short,” our dialogues often lasted two or three hours.
In the movie “The Last Samurai,” as the Japanese warrior Katsumoto lies dying on the battlefield, his former rival and new friend, Captain Nathan Algren, tells him, “I shall miss our conversations.” I too will sorely miss those dialogues with Gary. But when we reach our heavenly home, where disease and pain and death can no longer interrupt us, Gary and I will resume our conversations.
*[To view the complete memorial service for Gary Land at PMC before November 30 go to: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/7343695/Gary%20Land%20Memorial%20Service.m4v]
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Constitution of the Association of Seventh-day Adventist Historians
(Revised, June 2014)
ARTICLE I: NAME
The name of this organization shall be the ASSOCIATION FOR SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST HISTRIANS, hereinafter referred to as the ASSOCIATION.
ARTICLE II: OBJECTIVES, GOALS, AND PURPOSES
The purposes of the ASSOCIATION shall be to
i. provide intellectual and social fellowship among its members;
ii. encourage scholarly pursuits in history and its related fields particularly with
reference to the Seventh-day Adventist tradition;
iii. foster the exchange of creative teaching methodologies, curriculum and assessment;
iv. provide a forum for the sharing of experience and expertise in the administration of
history departments;
v. promote the study and use of history within the Adventist church.
Means of implementing these purposes shall include the presentation of scholarly papers and discussions by members and invited guests and the preparation of ASSOCIATION publications.
ARTICLE III: MEMERSHIP AND DUES
Any person interested in the ASSOCIATION and accepting its objectives shall be eligible for membership. Dues, in an amount determined in advance by the Executive Committee, shall be payable at the time of the Triennial Meeting. Members whose dues are currently paid shall be entitled to full rights of participation in all events sponsored by the ASSOCIATION until the beginning of the next Triennial Meeting. ASSOCIATION members shall receive copies of papers presented at the Triennial Meeting and all newsletters published during the ASSOCIATION year.
ARTICLE IV: MEETINGS
The ASSOCIATION shall hold a Triennial Meeting (normally on an Adventist campus on a rotational basis) to conduct the business of the ASSOCIATION and to feature presentations and events that foster its purposes and objectives. It shall hold such other meetings as may be called by the Executive Committee.
ARTICLE V: OFFICERS
The officers shall be President, Vice President/President-elect, Secretary/Treasurer, and Newsletter Editor. The Vice President/President-elect shall succeed to the office of President. At each Triennial Meeting a new Vice President shall be elected and other vacancies in the Executive Committee shall be filled. The Secretary-Treasurer and the Newsletter Editor shall hold continuous appointment unless a change is recommended by a majority vote of the Executive Committee or the Nominating Committee. Officers shall assume their positions at the end of the Triennial Meeting and shall hold office until the end of the next Triennial Meeting.
ARTICLE VI: ELECTIONS
At the Triennial Meeting a Nominating Committee of five members shall be elected by secret ballot from among ten nominees named from the floor. The members of the Nominating Committee shall choose one member to serve as its chair. The Nominating Committee shall present two candidates for each vacant office. The Nominating Committee shall attempt to maintain a balance of geographical representation within the Executive Committee. Officers shall be selected by a simple majority of members present and voting. The election shall be by secret ballot.
ARTICLE VII: COMMITTEES
The Executive Committee shall consist of the four officers and an elected member of the ASSOCIATION. The ASSOCIATION shall appoint at each Triennial session a Steering Committee comprising a representative of the next host institution, (chair), a representative of the past host institution, and three other members to plan for and manage the forthcoming Triennial meeting. The Vice President/President-elect shall serve as an ex officio member of the steering committee. Other standing and/or ad hoc committees may be established as deemed necessary by the Executive Committee.
ARTICLE VIII: AMENDMENTS
Proposals to amend this constitution shall be circulated by the Executive Committee to the members at least thirty days before the date of the meeting at which action is expected. Approval shall require at least a two-thirds vote of the members present and voting at any such meeting.
BYLAWS OF THE ASSOCIATION FOR SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST HISTORIANS
ARTICLE I: PRESIDENT
The President shall:
A. Provide active leadership in the implementation of the stated objectives, goals, and purposes of the ASSOCIATION;
B. Preside at all business meetings of the ASSOCIATION setting the agenda in consultation with the secretary and supervise the triennial conducting of elections;
C. Preside at meetings of the Executive Committee setting the agenda in consultation with the secretary;
D. Coordinate the work of the Executive Committee and any special projects determined by business meetings of the ASSOCIATION;
E. Originate or approve all publicity concerning the ASSOCIATION ensuring the widest possible promotion of the Association and its meetings;
F. Ensure that the ASSOCIATION website is maintained with current information and that it functions as an archive for the papers presented.
ARTICLE II: PRESIDENT-ELECT
The President-elect shall be appointed from the representatives of the next host institution and shall:
A. Serve on the Executive Committee;
B. Act in place of the President in the absence of the President;
C. Serve as chair of the steering committee for planning the program for the Triennial Meeting.
ARTICLE III: SECRETARY/TREASURER
The Secretary/Treasurer shall:
A. Provide for the maintenance and safe-keeping of all records of the Association, including a membership list, financial records, minutes, Triennial Meeting proceedings, and all Association publications;
B. Arrange for the preparation of such reports and records as the Executive Committee shall request;
C. Work in conjunction with the Newsletter Editor to report official actions to members within ninety days after their enactment at any duly called meeting;
D. Send notices of meetings to members not less than nine months in advance;
E. Make available programs and tentative agendas to members at the beginning of the Triennial Meeting and ensure that the current constitution and bylaws are published for triennial review in the program brochure;
F. Provide for the banking and accounting of ASSOCIATION funds;
G. Serve as secretary of the Executive Committee.
ARTICLE IV: NEWSLETTER EDITOR
The Newsletter Editor shall:
A. Serve on the Executive Committee;
B. Be responsible for editing and publishing at least two newsletters for posting to Association Members each year;
C. Solicit news items pertinent to the interests of the ASSOCIATION and include them in a newsletter to appear within ninety days after the Triennial Meeting and not less than nine months before the Triennial Meeting.
ARTICLE V: EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
The Executive Committee shall be charged with the general planning and execution of all matters of concern to the Association between its Triennial Meetings. Proposals for new committees or additional officers or other personnel must first have the approval of the Executive Committee before being presented to the membership for consideration.
ARTICLE VI: AMENDMENTS
Proposals to amend these bylaws shall be circulated by the Executive Committee to the members prior to the date of the meeting at which action is expected. Approval shall require at least a majority vote of the members present and voting at any such meeting.
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Colleges, Universities, & Institutional Reports
Adventist International Institute for Advanced Studies (AIIAS)
The Historical/Theological Studies Department at AIIAS has two professors who specialize in church history: Oleg Zhigankov (joined in 2011), who specializes in Early Church, Medieval, and Reformation Studies, and Michael Campbell (joined in 2013), who teaches Seventh-day Adventist Studies. Oleg recently led a doctoral seminar on the Anabaptists, directed a tour of Moscow and St. Petersburg, Russia, and published a History of Christianity in Eastern Europe with Source of Life Publishing House. Mike gave two papers during the past year: one on the development of Adventist statements of belief at the Adventist Society for Religious Studies and another on the development of Ellen White’s Testimonies for the joint ASDAH/GC Archives Conference in January 2014.
Andrews University
In 2014 Brian Strayer helped the Department achieve accreditation for its Social Studies major with its SPA, the National Council for Social Studies. In July the Review and Herald press published his book J. N. Loughborough: The Last of the Adventist Pioneers as volume eight in the Adventist Pioneer Biographies set. He and Linda Mack continue their collaboration on a biography of Dr. Blythe Owen, an internationally known composer and musician who taught at Walla Walla College and Andrews University for many years. He is currently writing a biography of John Byington, Methodist-Episcopal circuit-riding preacher in Vermont and New York, a founder of the Liberty Party, the Wesleyan Methodist Church, the Anti-Slavery Society in New York, and the first General Conference president in 1863-65. Kathryn Silva, who has taught U.S. History for four years, has gone to teach African American History at Utica College in Utica, New York. Her replacement this fall, Stephanie Carpenter from Murray State University in Kentucky, specializes in women’s history and the history of the western frontier. John Markovic is still working on his book on the emergent church movement in America and its implications for Seventh-day Adventism.
General Conference of SDAs
At the GC Archives, director David Trim organized a conference with the theme “Adventist History and Historiography: Sesquicentennial Perspectives” at the GC in January 2014. With co-author Benjamin Baker, he recently wrote Fundamental Belief 6: Creation as General Conference Finding Aid, no. 1.
Kingsway College
Connie Solomon, who has just completed her M.A. in Education, Curriculum and Instruction from La Sierra University, teaches in the History and English as a Second Language departments, although she states that teaching Canadian, U.S., and world history is her passion.
Union College
George Gibson will retire at the end of the 2014-15 school year. Ben Tyner hopes to complete his dissertation, “A Distant Conquest of Souls: The Use of Martyrs in Second Empire France, 1852-1871,” by December of 2014. Edward Allen has completed paperwork to register and incorporate ASDAH as a legal entity. He will give the keynote address at the Adventism in China Conference at Hong Kong Adventist College in October.
Washington Adventist University
Doug Morgan wrote six articles in Denis Fortin and Jerry Moon’s Encyclopedia of Ellen G. White (2014), a chapter entitled “Society” in Terrie Aamodt, Gary Land, and Ron Numbers’ book Ellen Harmon White: American Prophet (2014), and presented a paper, “WWI and the Evolution of American Adventist Attitudes Toward Military Service,” at the Institute of Adventist Studies International Symposium on the Impact of WWI on Seventh-day Adventism at Friedensau Adventist University in May 2014.
Independent Scholars
Semi-retired in Vallejo, California, Bill Cash and his wife enjoy traveling, renovating their 1890s Victorian home, and playing with their year-old twin granddaughters Elise and Emery. Bill is a consultant and research contractor for the GC Office of Archives, Statistics and Research and participates in accreditation site visits for WASC.
Floyd Greenleaf, an active retired historian in Port Charlotte, Florida, has spent three years revising and updating his history of SDA work in Latin America. A Land of Hope has recently been published in English, Portuguese, and Spanish by Casa Publicadora Brasileira; in addition an e-book is available through the GC Department of Archives, Statistics and Research. This update of his 1992 book also includes 88 rare photographs not found in The SDA Church in Latin America and the Caribbean.
After twenty-nine years of teaching social studies in Georgia and Alabama (fourteen of those at Atlanta Adventist Academy), Stan Hobbs is now Superintendent of Education for the Alabama-Mississippi Conference and in his spare time reads history books.
In Riverside, California, Maurice Hodgen has completed his book Master of the Mission Inn: Frank A. Miller, A Life, which was published in January 2014 and has already received a positive review in Kirkus. Copies are available for sale on Amazon.com.
Academy Teachers
Richard Orgwela, who has taught four years at two Lake Union Conference academies, returned to Andrews University in July to complete a Master of Arts Degree in Curriculum and Instruction.
*Seven ASDAH Conferences have been held at the following venues: Southern College (1995); Walla Walla College at Portland, OR (1998); Andrews University (2001); Pacific Union College (2004); Oakwood College (2007); Washington Adventist University (2010); and Union College (2013).
Association of Seventh-day Adventist Historians
Editor
Brian E. Strayer
Assistant Editor
Carmelita Arthur
President
Edward Allen
Secretary-Treasurer
Benjamin Tyner