On the last day of the 2025 General Conference (GC) Session, former GC president Ted N. C. Wilson was honored and recognized for his contributions to the Seventh-day Adventist Church during his 15-year tenure as president.
Following the recognition by the newly elected world church leadership, Wilson was presented with a signed Bible by his colleagues, delivered by the new GC president, Erton Köhler. Wilson’s wife, Nancy, received her own Bible and a bouquet of flowers.
“What a privilege it is for all of us to be a part of God’s last-day remnant church proclaiming Christ, His three angels’ messages, and His soon coming,” Wilson said. “Let us pray for our General Conference leaders and all our church leaders around the world.”
Upon his remarks, Wilson received a standing ovation from the more than 40,000 members and guests gathered in the America’s Center dome.
Ted N.C. Wilson was elected as president of the General Conference in July 2010 during the GC Session in Atlanta. Born in Takoma Park, Maryland on May 10, 1950, the son of former Adventist world church president Neal C. Wilson and Elinor E. Wilson, Wilson spent part of his childhood in Egypt.
Wilson began his church career as a pastor in 1974 in the Greater New York Conference. He married Nancy Louise Vollmer, a physical therapist, in 1975. The couple has three daughters: Emilie Louise, married to pastor Kameron DeVasher; Elizabeth Esther, married to pastor David Wright; and Catherine Anne, married to Robert Renck. The Wilsons have 10 grandchildren.
Wilson served as an assistant director and then director of Metropolitan Ministries in New York from 1976 to 1981. He went on to serve in the church’s then Africa-Indian Ocean Division, based in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, until 1990. There he served as a departmental director and later as division secretary.
Following his post in West Africa, he served for two years at the Adventist Church’s General Conference headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland, United States, as an associate secretary. He went on to accept the position of president of the church’s Euro Asia-Division in Moscow, Russia, which he held from 1992 to 1996.
Wilson returned to the United States to serve as president of the Review and Herald Publishing Association in Hagerstown, Maryland, until his election as a General Conference vice president in 2000.
An ordained minister, Wilson holds a Doctor of Philosophy degree in religious education from New York University, a Master of Divinity degree from Andrews University, and a Master of Science degree in public health from the Loma Linda University School of Public Health. In addition to English, he speaks French and some Russian.
The Life of Ellen G. White Presented by the White Estate
The Sabbath opened on July 11, 2025 at the 62nd General Conference Session in St. Louis with a presentation by the Ellen G. White Estate that highlighted the life and works of Adventist pioneer Ellen White.
Merlin D. Burt, director of the White Estate, shared that one of the most important traits of White’s writings was her emphasis on loving Jesus.
In a writing from the 1888 General Conference Session, she wrote:
“Oh, I love Him. I love Him, for He is my love. I see in Him matchless charms, and oh, how I want that we shall enter through the gates into the city [the New Jerusalem].”
Her favorite hymn was “Jesus, Lover of My Soul,” and she often quoted it in sermons and talks.
Burt shared first-hand accounts in his presentation of people describing Ellen White as a woman deeply in love with Jesus.
A famous moment in her life was a vision lasting 30 minutes while she held up a Bible weighing approximately 18 pounds (8 kg).
Burt asked the strongest man from the White Estate, Dwain Esmond, to hold up the Bible in the same way she had. The contrast between a grown man holding the Bible for less than two minutes and a frail 17-year-old girl holding it effortlessly for 30 minutes served as powerful evidence of God’s involvement, he says.
He also highlighted that God often caused White to hold up a Bible during her visions to demonstrate that her work was to lead others to God's word.
Burt shared stories of White's early life, including a traumatic injury at the age of nine that nearly resulted in her death. He also shared many quotes from throughout her life showcasing her devotion to the written word of God.
In between sections of Burt’s speech, various favored hymns of Ellen White were sung by a choir, including: “I Must Tell Jesus,” “I Surrender,” and “By and By.”
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