The Midnight Cry: a Defense of William Miller and the Millerites
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The Lighthouse Digital Library The Midnight Cry A Defense Of William Miller And The Millerites By Francis D. Nichol Letting the Light shine Lighthouse Publishing, Inc Abrams, WI 54101 Version 1.0 ã 1998 ii 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. 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 cometh; go ye 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 ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh." Matthew 25:1:13. The language of this parable is woven all through Millerite literature. They believed they fulfilled this parable. iii Contents From the Author to the Reader of This Book ................................. v 1. From Cradle to Army Camp ...................................................... 11 2. From Doubt to Faith .................................................................. 18 3. From Farmer to Preacher ........................................................... 30 4. Laying the Groundwork of the Movement ................................. 43 5. Millerism Spreads to the Great Cities ........................................ 54 6. The Movement Takes Definite Shape ........................................ 67 7. The First Millerite Camp Meeting .............................................. 83 8. The Great Tent is Raised ........................................................... 92 9. Interest and Opposition Increase ................................................ 102 10. The Year of the End of the World ............................................ 110 11. The First Disappointment ........................................................ 128 12. The Millerite Leaders–Courageous Individualists. ................... 141 13. Other Millerite Spokesmen ...................................................... 154 14. "Behold the Bridegroom Cometh" ........................................... 165 15. Hastening on to the Climax ...................................................... 174 16. The Great Day of Hope ............................................................ 183 17. The Great Disappointment ....................................................... 198 18. Confident in Defeat ................................................................. 209 19. The Movement Called Millerism Draws to Its Close ................ 219 20. The Kind of World in Which Millerism Flourished. ................. 231 21. Did the Millerites Indulge in Fanatical Practices? . .................. 241 22. Was Fanaticism Rampant in October, 1844? ............................ 255 23. Did Millerism Cause Insanity, Suicide, and Murder? ............... 266 24. Old Asylum Records Offer Further Testimony ......................... 275 25. Did the Millerites Wear Ascension Robes? .............................. 293 26. Tracing the Robe Story Through the Years .............................. 316 27. The Robe Story in Twentieth Century Dress ............................ 327 28. Did the Millerites Set Forth Strange, New Beliefs? . ................ 337 iv 29. Did the Advent Faith Miller Kindled, Die with Him? ...............358 30. The Case for the Defense Summed Up .....................................370 Acknowledgments .........................................................................374 Appendices ....................................................................................376 B. Miller Family Genealogy ..........................................................378 C. Clemons' Letter on Millerite Activities in October, 1844 ...........381 D. The So-Called Trial of Joshua V. Himes ...................................383 E. Miller's Accusation of Fanaticism ..............................................386 F. Himes' Comment on Gorgas Incident .........................................390 G. Certain Cases in the New Hampshire Asylum ............................396 H. Hereditary and Periodical Insanity in Relation to So-Called Religion-Induced Insanity .............................................399 I. An Ascension Robe Affidavit .....................................................402 J. Further Comments on the Book Days of Delusion ......................407 K. How Did the Ascension Robe Story Start? ................................410 L. Miller's Interpretation of Major Prophecies ................................413 M. Miller's Secondary Proofs for the 1843 Date .............................417 N. The Idea of Gradual World Improvement Heavily Discounted Today .........................................................................420 Footnotes ......................................................................................426 v 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 check 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: vi 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. *1 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 example of an historian who is both impartial and objective." *2 *3 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.