Robert H. Pierson
| Robert H. Pierson | |
|---|---|
| 16th President of the General Conference of Seventh day Adventists | |
|
In office 1966–1979 |
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| Preceded by | Reuben Richard Figuhr |
| Succeeded by | Neal C. Wilson |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1911 |
| Died | 1989 |
| Profession | Pastor |
Robert Howard Pierson (3 January 1911 – 21 January 1989) was a president of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. In 1935 he went to work in Bombay, India. In 1939, while in India, he was ordained as a minister of the Adventist church. He returned to the United States in 1942 and was appointed to administrative positions of the church and also went to positions in the overseas divisions of the church till elected president of the General Conference in 1966 and served till his retirement in 1979.
He served as president of the British West Indies Union (1944–1947), president of the Southern Asia Division (1950–1954), president of the Kentucky-Tennessee Conference (1954–1957), president of the Texas Conference (1957–1958), president of the Southern Africa Division (1958–1962), president of the Trans-African Division (1962–1966), and ultimately, president of the General Conference (1966–1979).
As of 2007, Pierson is the third-longest serving church president after A. G. Daniells.
Raymond Cottrell wrote, "Robert H. Pierson was a gracious person, a dedicated Adventist, a gentleman in every way, but also a person with clear objectives and resolute determination to achieve them." He describes Pierson, Gordon M. Hyde and Gerhard Hasel as the "three architects" behind "the decade of obscurantism (1969-1979)". According to Cottrell this "triumvirate" attempted to gain control of Adventist biblical studies in this decade.
Pierson was a prolific writer, both of prose and poetry. His biography Radiant With Hope lists him as author of 28 books, many of them translated into multiple languages, as well as hundreds of articles.
Pierson wrote both adventure stories and devotional works. Journals, such as the Youth Instructor, a journal for Adventist youth (now discontinued), published both type of essays by him. In 1955, a seven part series entitled Forbidden Lands and Strange Places, Pierson described his travel to Afghanistan.
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