the Lord's Supper. On September 11, 1801, at an annual meeting of some churches in Hopkinton, Rhode Island, Henry Clarke of Brookfield, New York, proposed "the union in an institution with the purpose of propagating our religion in different parts of the United States, sending missionaries from various churches, at their own expense". In September 1802, the majority of the eight Seventh Day Baptist churches voted in favor of the proposal, with the result that the General Conference was founded. The service conference for carrying out missionary works, promoting unity and a great growth in the number of members and locations. It continues its activities until today, obtained the union with the seventh day Baptist churches of Canada, passing the nomination to the Seventh Day Baptist General Conference of USA and Canada. Undertook most of the mission fields of the Seventh Day Baptists and through these they were instituting and spreading the churches and conferences in several other countries of the world. Currently, the conference is member of the Baptist World Alliance. The church was committed to education, but they encountered many difficulties. As the church grew, they managed to found some educational institutions. Alfred University started as a college in 1836 in Alfred, New York, by the Seventh Day Baptists, being elevated to the academy in 1842. Motivated to organize a theological seminary, they worked to obtain a university license. In 1857 they finally obtained a license and the Department of Theology was created at the then Alfred University. The former Milton College began operating as a school in 1844, being incorporated into the Wisconsin legislature in 1848 as Academy DuLac, offering high school courses concurrently with Higher Education. The academy progressed to the point of becoming a college in 1867. The college had clear connections with the USA's Seventh Day Baptist Church that offered operational support. A school was founded in Salem, West Virginia, after the Eastern Seventh Day Baptist Association decided to build an academy in the area. The state granted a permit in December 1888 to build what was called the Academy of Salem, specifying that the institution was subject to the regulations and decisions of the Society of Seventh Day Baptist Education. The charter required the institution to make a college as soon as possible, which occurred in 1890. Until 1992, a close relationship between Seventh Day Baptists and the Salem University still existed. It