Sketches of the Christian life and public labors of William Miller : $b Gathered from his memoir by the late Sylvester Bliss, and from other sourcesWhite, James
Philosophy
Sketches of the Christian life and public labors of William Miller : $b Gathered from his memoir by the late Sylvester Bliss, and from other sources
White, James
Miller, William, 1782-1849
“After the Boston Conference, Mr. Miller accompanied Mr. Himes to
Portland, Me., where he gave discourses in the afternoon and evening
of Sunday, June 1, to crowded audiences. Many of those present,
doubtless, were drawn to hear him by motives of curiosity, because of the
disappointment in time. The necessity of patience and of watchfulness
were subjects on which he discoursed.
“He returned to Boston, and from thence went to a camp-meeting at
Champlain, N. Y., on the 10th of June. After this, he returned home, in
the enjoyment of good general health, but somewhat afflicted by boils.
“As the author of a movement which had resulted in disappointment, and,
in some respects, disaster, Mr. Miller deemed it proper that he should
make a personal statement to the Christian public, show the motives
that had actuated him, and disavow any sympathy with the extremes into
which some had gone, contrary to his earnest remonstrances. His growing
infirmities made him shrink from the labor of writing, and caused him
to desire an amanuensis. For this purpose, the writer of this visited
him in the month of July, 1845, and Mr. Miller dictated his ‘Apology and
Defense,’ a tract of thirty-six pages, which was published by Mr. Himes,
in Boston. It was addressed ‘To all who love the Lord Jesus Christ in
sincerity,’ and commenced with:—
“‘As all men are responsible to the community for the
sentiments they may promulgate, the public have a right
to expect from me a candid statement in reference to my
disappointment in not realizing the advent of Christ in A. D.
1843-4, which I had confidently believed. I have, therefore,
considered it not presumptuous in me to lay before the
Christian public a retrospective view of the whole question,
the motives that actuated me, and the reasons by which I was
guided.’
“He then proceeded to narrate his early history, and gave an account
of his ‘deistical opinions,’ his ‘first religious impressions,’
his ‘connection with the army,’ his ‘removal to Low Hampton,’ his
‘determination to understand the Scriptures,’ his ‘manner of studying
the Bible,’ the ‘results arrived at,’ and his subsequent labors; all of
which have been noticed at greater length in the foregoing pages. He then
summed up his labors as follows:—
“‘From the commencement of that publication, I was overwhelmed
with invitations to labor in various places, with which I
complied as far as my health and time would allow. I labored
extensively in all the New England and Middle States, in Ohio,
Michigan, Maryland, the District of Columbia, and in Canada
East and West, giving about four thousand lectures in something
like five hundred different towns.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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