J. L. McElhany Papers

Content Description

James Lamar McElhany (1880-1959) was born in Santa Maria, California and educated in public schools and Healdsburg College. He became a member of the Seventh-day Adventist church in 1895, and a Bible and tract worker for the California Conference in 1901. McElhany was ordained to the ministry in 1904 while engaged in his first overseas appointment to the mission fields of Australia. On returning to the United States in 1910, he briefly chaplained the sanitarium and pastored the church in Boulder, Colorado, before accepting the chaplaincy of the W ashington Sanitarium and Hospital. His appointment in 1913 to the presidency of the Greater New York Conference was the beginning of an uninterrupted series of administrative positions that culminated with the presidency of the General Conference. Between 1913 and 1926, McElhany was president, successively, of the New York, California, Southeastern California, Southern Union, and Pacific Union Conferences. He became vice-president for the North American Division in 1926, again president of the Pacific Union Conference in 1932, general vicepresident of the General Conference in 1933, and president of the General Conference in 1936, a post he held until 1950. From 1950 until his death at the Glendale Sanitarium, he served as a field secretary for the General Conference. As General Conference President, McElhany led the Seventh-day Adventist Church through a period of national and international stress. Limited funds made the financing of the church work difficult during the years of America's recovery from economic depression. He presided over a significant session of the General Conference Committee which decided the position the church took regarding war service of Seventh-day Adventist youth, and later the organization of regional conferences. Toward the close of his administration, Elder McElhany drew from his rich background of administrative experience to steer the work of church reorganization and rehabilitation in many parts of the world. In the words of Everett D. Dick, he was a "conservative but courageous" administrator, "farsighted and well balanced" but "not impetuous in judgement." Above all, Elder McElhany was "kind and courteous and sympathetic to all at all times."

Provenance

These papers were in J. L. McElhany's possession at the time of his death in 1959. They came into the possession of C. Mervyn Maxwell, chairman of the Church History Department at the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary. Dr. Maxwell gave the papers to the Andrews University Heritage Room in 1972.

Restrictions Apply

Yes

Use Restrictions

All users of this collection will be required to complete the “Application to Use Unpublished Records,” and to observe the regulations specified in the "Patron Agreement" and "Researcher’s Code of Conduct." All records in this collection are open and available for research. Citation for this collection: Box ___, Fld ___, [J. L. McElhany] (collection 001), Center for Adventist Research, James White Library, Andrews University, Berrien Springs, MI.