The Midnight Cry

THE MIDNIGHT CRY A DEFENSE OF THE CHARACTER AND CONDUCT OF WILLIAM MILLER AND THE MILLERITES, WHO MISTAKENLY BELIEVED THAT THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST WOULD TAKE PLACE IN THE YEAR 1844 BY FRANCIS D. NICHOL 1945 REVIEW AND HERALD PUBLISHING ASSOCIATION TAKOMA PARK - WASHINGTON, D. C. To My Mother, Who Taught Me in Childhood the Blessed Hope of the Advent; and to My Father, Who Daily Prayed at the Family Altar for the Speedy Coming of Our Lord, This Book Is Affectionately Dedicated. www.maranathamedia.com.au The Midnight Cry – F.D Nichol THE MIDNIGHT CRY This phrase, which the Millerites used to describe their message to the world, is adapted from the words of Christ’s parable regarding the wise and foolish virgins who were waiting for the bridegroom to come forth that they might go “with him to the marriage.” During the long wait they “all slumbered and slept. And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom comes; go you out to meet him.” The wise virgins had taken oil in their lamps. All arose when the cry went forth at midnight. The foolish went to buy Oil; the wise went in with the bridegroom to the marriage celebration, and “the door was shut.” The lesson Christ drew was this: “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man comes.” Matthew 25:1-13. The language of this parable is woven all through Millerite literature. They believed they fulfilled this parable. Contents From the Author to the Reader of This Book 1. From Cradle to Army Camp 2. From Doubt to Faith 3. From Farmer to Preacher 4. Laying the Groundwork of the Movement 5. Millerism Spreads to the Great Cities 6. The Movement Takes Definite Shape 7. The First Millerite Camp Meeting 8. The Great Tent is Raised 9. Interest and Opposition Increase 10. The Year of the End of the World 11. The First Disappointment 12. The Millerite Leaders-Courageous Individualists 13. Other Millerite Spokesmen 14. “Behold the Bridegroom Cometh 15. Hastening on to the Climax 16. The Great Day of Hope 17. The Great Disappointment 18. Confident in Defeat 19. The Movement Called Millerism Draws to Its Close 20. The Kind of World in Which Millerism Flourished 21. Did the Millerites Indulge in Fanatical Practices? 22. Was Fanaticism Rampant in October, 1844? 23. Did Millerism Cause Insanity, Suicide, and Murder? 24. Old Asylum Records Offer Further Testimony 25. Did the Millerites Wear Ascension Robes? 26. Tracing the Robe Story Through the Years 27. The Robe Story in Twentieth Century Dress 28. Did the Millerites Set Forth Strange, New Beliefs? 29. Did the Advent Faith Miller Kindled, Die with Him? 30. The Case for the Defense Summed Up Acknowledgments Appendices A. Miller Family Genealogy B. Clemons’ Letter on Millerite Activities in October, 1844 C. The So Called Trial of Joshua V. Himes D. Miller’s Accusation of Fanaticism E. Himes’ Comment on Gorgas Incident 2 The Midnight Cry – F.D Nichol F. Certain Cases in the New Hampshire Asylum G. Hereditary and Periodical Insanity in Relation to So Called Religion-Induced Insanity H. An Ascension Robe Affidavit I. Further Comments on the Book Days of Delusion J. How Did the Ascension Robe Story Start? K. Miller’s Interpretation of Major Prophecies L. Miller’s Secondary Proofs for the 1843 Date M. The Idea of Gradual World Improvement Heavily Discounted Today N. “Gabriel, Blow That Horn!” Bibliography References From the Author To the Reader of This Book A LITTLE OVER A CENTURY AGO, in that mysterious way known only to God, devout men in different lands were simultaneously quickened to search the Scriptures on the subject of the Second Advent of Christ. The results of that study may rightly be described as an advent awakening of hope and belief that the great day of Christ’s coming was drawing on apace. In no land was that awakening more clear cut, more definitely organized, or more dramatically brought to a climax than in America. In this country the most prominent spokesman was William Miller, and thus the advent movement in the Western Hemisphere is generally known as Millerism. The purpose of this book is twofold: (1 ) to present the story of the life of Miller and the activities of the Millerite movement; and (2) to examine a series of charges against the Millerites. To present the first without the second would leave a number of questions unanswered, for virtually all well-read persons are acquainted with various charges of fanaticism that have been leveled at the movement. The very fact that the subject is controversial makes it difficult to present the story of the Millerites in proper perspective. Heat warps everything it touches, particularly the heat of controversy. The task of straightening out the record is the one we have here set for ourselves. We traveled New England three times to visit historic places, to examine the records in historical society offices and libraries, and even to cheek case history records in asylums. On another trip (to Aurora College, Illinois), we had the opportunity of reading the correspondence of William Miller, a collection of more than eight hundred letters to and from him, and also other manuscripts of Miller. Most of this material has lain unused and quite forgotten since Sylvester Bliss wrote his biography of Miller, in 1853. We thought, at first, of attempting to write a history. But according to the canons of history writing, which theoretically seem sweetly reasonable and easy to conform to, we would be expected to write in a detached style. We would be supposed to reveal only in the closing chapter, if at all, our personal judgment on the merits of the conflicting evidence. We finally decided not to attempt this, and for the following reasons: 1. We have spiritual kinship with the Millerites; We belong to a religious body (Seventh-day Adventists) whose roots go down into the soil of Millerism. Long-established judicial rules require a judge to disqualify himself from sitting on a case in which he has any personal interest. He may honorably act as an advocate for one side, but not as a judge between disputants. We believe the same principle holds for an author. It is not necessarily a question of his sincerity, for even the most sincere person may be quite unconsciously affected by submerged premises fixed in his mind through long years. Particularly is this true in the field of religion, where our deepest feelings almost defy analysis. This handicap may be partly overcome by setting down the bare facts with studied objectivity. But such writing is likely to be more insipid than impartial. 2. We doubt whether it is possible even for trained writers to deal in a wholly dispassionate way with any subject that involves human passions and prejudices. We have read the story of the Revolutionary War, by able chroniclers who differed considerably in their accounts. Yet these divergent historians would doubtless insist that they were students of the objective school of history writing. Their thinking was unconsciously affected by whether they were writing at Harvard or at Oxford. [A] Some keen students of the science of history writing declare that there is no truly impartial writing, or at least that few are capable of it. One of them observes: “Probably the recording angel is the only 3 The Midnight Cry – F.D Nichol example of an historian who is both impartial and objective.” [1] [B] He gives the names of certain men long known as great historians, and declares they were far from impartial, and quite possibly would have spoiled such historical and literary abilities as they possessed if they had tried to attain to the rare heights of absolute detachment. This leads him to remark, immediately, that “minds capable of this task” of writing impartially “are few.” His counsel, therefore, is this: “The beginner, who aims at impartiality and objectivity, will assuredly hamper himself and fail to achieve them; it is far better for him to put all such ideals on one side, and let his mind work freely on its own natural lines. Let him take lower levels and train himself to be an advocate before he attempts to play the part of the recording angel.” [2] Certainly the historians who have included in their encyclopedias or histories a discussion of Millerism have not written impartially. That, we believe, will be evident as the reader examines the charges in the latter part of this book. Whether this illustrates how difficult is the feat of impartial writing, or merely how befogged is the subject of Millerism, we shall let the reader judge. In either case it helps, at least, to reveal how bold and ambitious we would be to claim to set forth a wholly dispassionate account of Millerism. 3. We are not certain that a detached, delicately balanced presentation is needed at this juncture. To borrow a homely illustration from the playground: When a teeter board has seated on it a child at each end, then someone may be needed to stand in the middle, to throw his weight, first on one side and then on the other. But if one child after another sits down at the same end, the only hope of bringing the board into line is for someone to throw all his weight on the other end. Now during a hundred years a host of writers- one after another-have added their weight to one end of the board that constitutes the record of Millerism.

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