nd good that
all business and proceedings of this conference, or synod, shall be
conducted in the German language. All written reports of the proceedings
belonging to the whole shall also be published in the German language."
(4.) Synod also regarded it "as most necessary that we be as diligent as
possible to acquaint our children with all our doctrines of faith in our
German language, since in it we are able to instruct them in the easiest
way." (9.) A footnote makes the following comment: "The reason why we
desire a purely German-speaking conference: Experience has taught us
that where a conference is German-English, either the one or the other
party considers itself offended. When German is spoken, the English
brethren understand little, and very frequently nothing at all. When
English is spoken, many a German brother is unable to grasp the matter,
and accordingly unable to judge in questions of the greatest importance.
Besides, at the present time there are very few purely English pastors
who accept the doctrine of our Church and desire to preach it." (4.) The
same sentiments are voiced in the following statement of this report:
"False Lutherans prefer to seek entrance among the German church-people,
because they still contribute most to the support of the ministry. Some
Germans also of our day are of such a kind that if they are able to
preach a little English, no matter how broken and jargonlike it is
spoken, they are inflated with such senseless pride that they would no
longer preach a thing in their mother-tongue nor care the least for the
order of the Church, if it were not a question of bread and of keeping
the good will of some obdurate Germans. They preach because they take
pleasure in hearing themselves. Those who are really English and
understand their language do not care to hear such, except at times, and
then for their amusement only. The Germans therefore are under no
obligations to the good will of such sirs, when they serve them in their
language and according to their order." (31.) Originally, then, the
Tennessee Synod was determined to be and to remain a purely
German-speaking body.

88. Attitude toward the English Language.--That the interest
manifested by the Tennessee Synod in the German language was not due to
any unreasonable prejudice or hatred toward the English language as
such, appears from the fact that since 1821 the minutes of Synod were
printed both in English and German. Moreover, in