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father did in 1930.
He has incorporated under civil law, under a church name
as a starter. This was done to try to draw away members from the
true Church to follow him.
But what his father did was totally different. In Oregon
a number of members of the "Church of God, Seventh-Day," head
quartered at Stanberry, Missouri, pulled out and incorporated
themselves separately as "The Oregon Conference of The Church of
God". They became a SEPARATE CHURCH, operating with their own
tithes, directing and paying salary to their own ministers. They
were ORGANIZED. They did not understand God's form of organi
zation--they had no Apostle, but they did employ evangelists--
as Robert L. Taylor, Roy Daily and myself--and later, Sven Oberg
and A. J. Ray. Their form of organization was a board of trustees,
with a president, vice-president, and secretary-treasurer. The
board was in authority--not the ministers.
Shortly after the Oregon Conference separately incorporated,
a division occurred in the Stanberry church, and approximately
half of their members followed Andrew N. Dugger into a new church
based at Salem, West Virginia, and named, simply, "Church of God".
In August of 1933, I renounced the salary from the Oregon
Conference, but did not leave their fellowhsip. In fact, later
that August a new church was established at Jeans school house,
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12 miles west of Eugene--all �ut one family� own new converts, and
that family not attached to either Sardis group. But, more--most of
the Oregon Conference members began coming to Eugene to fellowship with
the new Radio Church of God (now the Worldwide Church of God), and
I continued as a voluntary service, to preach Sabbath afternoons at the
school house near Jefferson, where they met. ·1 never sought to pull
away any of their members. They were enamored with the new Salem
based church, and a little later--(not now sure of the date), probably
1934, while the Radio Church of God was on the air and the PLAIN TRUTH
being published--they abandoned their Oregon Conference and went
in with Salem. At, and just west of Eugene, the parent church
of the Worldwide Church of God was very much alive and growing.
I was leading elder, and I had appointed and ord�ined an assistant
pastor, and a deacon. We counselled seriously on the matter-
decided, in early or mid-1934 not to go in with the Salem people-
and we had never gone in with Stanberry. However, a little later
I agreed to co-operate and work with the Salem ministers--and under
this arrangement I continued as pastor of the members who formerly
were the Oregon Conference, but now were joined with Salem. BUT
NEITHER I NOR ANY OF THE EUGENE MEMBERS ever joined the Salem
Church--or Stanberry. I received no salary or compensation of
any kind from them. On my part it was a VOLUNTARY GIVING of time
and effort and co-operation, with no remuneration of any kind.
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Later --it was either 1945 or 1947--probably the latter--the former
Oregon Conference members had a division. I had ordained two elders
and two deacons in their local church near Jefferson, which I pastored.
Half of them including one elder, a Mr. Davidson, and Mr. Henion,
refused to meet with them further, though I urged them to remain
with the Salem people.
Meanwhile, about half of all the brethren in the Willamette Valley
had remained with Stanberry. They asked me urgently to unite them