At times, when a small group of men entrusted with the general management of the work have, in the name of the General Conference, sought to carry out unwise plans and to restrict God’s work, I have said that I could no longer regard the voice of the General Conference, represented by these few men, as the voice of God. But this is not saying that the decisions of a General Conference composed of an assembly of duly appointed, representative men from all parts of the field should not be respected. God has ordained that the representatives of His church from all parts of the earth, when assembled in a General Conference, shall have authority. The error that some are in danger of committing is in giving to the mind and judgment of one man, or of a small group of men, the full measure of authority and influence that God has vested in His church in the judgment and voice of the General Conference assembled to plan for the prosperity and advancement of His work. {9T 260.2}

Til tider, når en lille gruppe af mand, der er blevet betroet den daglige ledelse af værket, i Generalkonferensens navn har forsøgt at gennemføre ukloge (261) planer og begrænse Guds værk, har jeg sagt, at jeg ikke længere skulle betragte disse få mænd, som repræsentanter for generalkonferensen og deres meninger som Guds stemme, men dette betyder ikke, at beslutninger af Generalkonferensen ikke skulle respekteres når dette består af lovlig valgte repræsentanter fra alle dele af verden. Gud har bestemt, at repræsentanterne for hans menighed fra alle dele af jorden skal have autoritet, når de er samlet til generalkonferense. Faren ligger i at give det enkelte menneske eller en lille gruppe af mænd det fulde mål af autoritet og indflydelse, som Gud har givet til sin menighed, i bestemmelser og udtalelser af generalkonferensen, når den er samlet for at planlægge den videre fremgang af værket.