I. THE GENERAL CONFERENCE. II. ANNUAL CONFERENCES. III. MISSION CONFERENCES. IV. CENTRAL MISSION CONFERENCES. V. DISTRICT CONFERENCES. VI. QUARTERLY CONFERENCES. VII. THE LEADERS AND STEWARDS' MEETING. VIII. THE OFFICIAL BOARD. CHAPTER I. THE GENERAL CONFERENCE. 58. The General Conference shall be composed of Ministerial and Lay Delegates. ¶ 59. The Ministerial Delegates shall consist of one Delegate for every forty-five Members of each Annual Conference, to be appointed either by seniority or choice at the discretion of such Annual Conference, yet so that such Representatives shall have traveled at least four full calendar years from the time that they were received on Trial by an Annual Conference, and are in Full Connection at the time of holding the Conference.* ¶ 60. The Lay Delegates shall consist of two Laymen for each Annual Conference, except such Conferences as have but one Ministerial Delegate, which Conferences shall each be entitled to one Lay Delegate. ¶ 61. The Lay Delegates shall be chosen by an Electoral Conference of Laymen, which shall assemble for the purpose on the third day of the session of the Annual Conference, at the place of its meeting, at its session immediately preceding that of the General Conference. ¶ 62. The Electoral Conference shall be composed of one Layman from each Circuit or Station within the bounds of the Annual Conference, such Layman to be chosen by the last Quarterly Conference preceding the *A Transferred Minister shall not be counted twice in the same year in the basis of the election of Delegates to the General Conference, nor vote for Delegates to the General Conference in any Annual Conference where he is not counted as a part of the basis of representation, nor vote twice the same year on any constitutional question. time of the assembling of such Electoral Conference; and on assembling, the Electoral Conference shall organize by electing a Chairman and Secretary of its own number; provided, that no Layman shall be chosen a Delegate either to the Electoral Conference or to the General Conference who shall be under twenty-five years of age, or who shall not have been a Member of the Church in Full Connection for the five consecutive years preceding the elections.* ¶ 63. The General Conference shall meet on the first Wednesday of May, in the year of our Lord 1900, and thenceforward on the first Wednesday in May once in four years perpetually, at such hour and in such place in the United States as the General Conference may from time to time direct; but the General Superintendents, or a majority of them, by and with the advice of two thirds of all the Annual Conferences, shall have power to call an extra session of the General Conference, to be constituted in the usual way. But if there shall be no General Superintendent, then two thirds of all the Annual Conferences shall have power to call such extra session. ¶ 64. At all times when the General Conference is met it shall take two thirds of the whole number of Ministerial and Lay Delegates to form a quorum fór transacting business. ¶ 65. The Ministerial and Lay Delegates shall deliberate and vote together as one body; but they shall vote separately whenever such separate vote shall be demanded by one third of either Order; and in such cases *The Secretaries of the several Annual and Electoral Conferences shall send to the Secretary of the last General Conference a certified copy of the election of Delegates and Reserves to the next General Conference, in the order of their election, as soon after the election as practicable, so that a roll of Delegates and Reserves may be prepared for the opening of the next General Conference. |