In 1853, Roberts was sent to Brockport, New York. By 1854, it was clear that a major, conference-wide conflict was brewing. On the one side were those conservatives who favored traditional Methodist teaching on matters of social and personal ethics, and who favored the traditional Methodist emphasis on entire sanctification. On the other side were those progressives who favored an assimilation of Methodism to prevailing American sensitivities and mores, including a de-emphasis on entire sanctification in favor of more "realistic" ethical expectations. These conflicting undercurrents bubbled to the surface in 1855. Leslie Ray Marston, former bishop in the Free Methodist Church of North America, best described the situation: