# Synodical Conference Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1920_S15
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

of the Ev. Luth. Synodical Conference of North America. 1920. 15

election of grace according to Scripture and Confession, in truth and in love.

"We pray and beseech God, the Father of our LORD JESUS Christ, the great and only LORD of the church, that he grant a favorable hearing to our brotherly letter, required by duty and conscience, before your Reverend Synod, and direct the whole matter to the glory of his name and to the salvation of many souls.

"We have also appointed three delegates who are to represent orally what we have written here.

"In the name and by commission of the Ev. Luth. Synodical Conference of North America, we sign:

"(Signed.) C. Gausewitz, President.
"Joh. Meyer, Secretary.

"Saginaw, Mich., 19 August 1912."

The committee of three delegates last named in the letter consisted of Prof. W. H. T. Dau, Prof. D. F. Pieper and Director J. Schaller.

In the year 1914 this committee reported at the convention of the Synodical Conference at Milwaukee that the above letter had been sent off promptly, but that the committee had not succeeded in coming before the Norwegian Synod. By resolution of the Norwegian Synod our committee was to negotiate not with the whole synod, but with a committee consisting of D. H. G. Stub, Prof. D. J. Ylvisaker and Pastor O. P. Vangsnes. Our committee thought it had no authority for this, since its commission from the Synodical Conference did not read that way, but offered to attend such committee meetings at any time and place as private men and to report on them, only that such conferences must not count as official. But no such meeting had come about. On this report the Synodical Conference enlarged the powers of the committee and authorized it also to negotiate with a committee appointed by the Norwegian Church Council, to take advantage of every opportunity for negotiations offered by the Norwegians, and if need be also to take the initiative in such opportunities. The committee consisted of Professors W. H. T. Dau, D. F. Pieper, Theo. Schlüter.

At the Synodical Conference at Toledo, 1916, the committee reported that it had still not succeeded in reaching either the Norwegian Synod or a committee of the Church Council. The death of Pastor Vangsnes and a serious illness of D. Stub had seriously delayed such a meeting, and no other committee had been appointed. In the meantime, however, the above letter of the Synodical Conference to the Norwegian Synod had become known through print, and a movement against the "Opgjör" had arisen within the Norwegian Synod. While this minority