Subsequently, Rev. Morris was transferred to the Kentucky Annual Conference. In 1824 he was first elected a delegate to General Conference. He would be elected to every General Conference thereafter until his election to the Episcopacy. In 1826 he was appointed Presiding Elder of the Green River District. That year he also suffered from a shock of paralysis, and was afterwards transferred back to the Ohio Conference. In spite of impaired health, however, he remained a dedicated student and a wide reader. After having been stationed in Cincinnati for several years, he was, in 1833, appointed Presiding Elder of the Cincinnati District. In April 1834 he was appointed Editor of the "Western Christian Advocate," an important periodical of his denomination, headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. As early as 1835 he was known to be an advocate of total abstinence (from alcoholic beverage).