WORLD CHURCH

• ELECTION OF DELEGATES (Return)
  
  "He [God] has so arranged matters that chosen men shall go as dele­gates to our conferences. These men are to be tried and proved. They are to be trustworthy men. The choosing of delegates to attend our confer­ences is an important matter. These men are to lay the plans that shall be followed in the advancement of the work; and therefore they are to b&~ men of understanding, able to reason from cause to effect." -Testimonies for the Church, vol. 9, p. 262.
  
  "Every member of the church has a vote in choosing officers of the church. The church chooses the officers of the state conferences. Delegates chosen by the state conferences choose the officers of the union conferences, and delegates chosen by the union conferences choose the officers of the General Conference. By this arrangement every conference, every institution, every church, and every individual, either directly or through representatives, has a voice in the election of the men who bear the chief responsibilities in the General Conference." -Testimonies for the Church, vol. 8, pp. 236, 237.
  
  At least a half year before the General Conference delegates' sessions, although one year beforehand would be more advisable, the delegates to the delegates' session of the General Conference must be elected in the unions and fields under the General Conference. One delegate is elected for every 250 members or fraction thereof. After the election, the secre­tary of the union, field or mission field under the General Conference sends the certification of the delegates (including their names, office within the church, and personal data) to the General Conference secre­tary.