Why have Conference every year?

We tend to hear this question periodically. Some have suggested we could move to a biennial gathering, thus saving much work and money.
So, when I saw this headline—“Why have Conference every year?”—in a 1976 Sabbath Recorder, the short article caught my eye. Here it is:

“Gatherings at Conference are safeguards against apostasy and disintegration. They cultivate acquaintance and create aspiration for holiness and Christian labor. They often result in conversions, broaden our conceptions of Christian doctrines and duty, and in many ways are worth vastly more than they cost.
“Does it pay for the farmer to lay out money to purchase seed and scatter it to the ground? Wait until the harvest for the answer.
“Does it pay to expend money to educate your children? Wait a few years and see the well-disciplined mind, the expanded and devout Spiritual being, the eminently useful man or woman, and then see how quickly a few hundred or thousands of dollars will fade out of sight.
“Give the Conference your support, your presence, your sympathies, and be blessed thereby.”

Here’s the fun thing. This 1976 SR was quoting from another Sabbath Recorder—July 20, 1896!