RISE AND PROGRESS OF ADVENTISM.
A wide field is before me, and I must study brevity upon this subject, or it will crowd more important matter out of this volume. I can therefore give but a brief sketch of the most prominent features of this great movement. I shall be principally indebted to an article published in the Advent Shield for May, 1844, written by J. Litch, for what is said upon this subject. The first period of expectation had just passed, when Mr. Litch reviewed the entire ground, and presented facts in the case for the edification and encouragement of believers. These facts can never lose their interest to all true believers, till the Advent hope shall be consummated.
“The rise of the Advent cause, as it has been developed by Mr. Miller, may be dated A. D. 1831. For although he discovered his principles as early as 1818, it was not until 1831 that he first began to publish them abroad.
“His first step in this work was the publication of a series of articles on the subject of Christ’s second coming, which appeared in the Vermont Telegraph, a Baptist paper, published in Brandon, Vt. Those articles were written to rid himself of the strong impression which followed him, that he must go and publish this thing to the world.
“But after writing and publishing the above, instead, as he expected, of finding relief from his responsibilities, he only found the inward monitor the more earnestly pressing him, saying, ‘Go and tell it to the world, or their blood will I require at thy hand.’ To rid himself of this strong impression, he wrote a synopsis of his views, and in the spring of 1832 he published it in pamphlet form, and spread it over the country, and sent it to different parts of the world among the missionary stations.”
Invitations for Mr. Miller to lecture came in from all directions, which he accepted, and he continued to travel and labor with great success among the people, but with little encouragement from the ministry.
“In 1836 Mr. Miller found a friend who undertook the publication of a volume of lectures, the series which he usually gave as a course. The publication of those lectures constituted a new era in the history of the Advent cause; for, from that time, wherever he went and lectured, the written lectures which were left behind continued to preach and establish those who were partially convinced of the truth. His labor, by this means, ceased to be like writing upon the sand, as formerly. It is one of those strongly-marked demonstrations which history presents of the power and influence of the press for good or evil.
“Those books gradually spread abroad, where he had never been in person, and created an interest in the public mind to investigate the subject for themselves. It was not, however, until the winter of 1837-8, that the work attracted much attention in Massachusetts. About the month of February, in 1838, several copies of the lectures found their way into Massachusetts, and awakened quite a sensation. One copy fell into the hands of the editor of the Boston Daily Times, and most of the lectures were re-published in that paper, and obtained quite an extensive reading. The effect was so great that it was found necessary to provide an antidote, in the shape of two letters from the pen of Rev. Ethan Smith.”
Mr. Litch introduces his own interesting experience in the Advent cause in the following language: