BOSTON by Dudley Marvin Canright

The Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Apr 23, 1867

BOSTON.

By Dudley Marvin Canright

APRIL 1 to 7, I spent in Boston. Bro. Howard was with me most of the time. We had a very sweet meeting at Bro. Rice’s on the Sabbath. There are about a dozen Sabbath-keepers in this city. Though they are somewhat scattered, yet they have Sabbath meetings. On Sunday, two were baptized. With judicious labor here there might be a good company gathered out.

The First-day Advent Conference was holden in this city while I was here; so I attended nearly every meeting, to learn what they were doing, and see what spirit they were of. The conclusion that I came to was, that they are in a sad state of confusion, bewildered and perplexed, not knowing either their point of compass, or the time of night. They are sure that the Lord is coming soon, many of them say this year, some next, some in 1875, &c., &c. There is little harmony among them about it. They can not give any better reason why the Lord is coming now than they could for a dozen or more other times which they have set before. One man said, “I believed without a doubt that Jesus was coming in 1844; I believed without a doubt that he was coming in 1854; and I now believe without a doubt that he is coming in 1867.” A listener remarked, “This believing without a doubt does not seem to amount to much.” It seems strange that men should be so blind as all this. They have set so many definite times “without a doubt,” that the people are getting disgusted with it, and now it has little or no effect on the people.

I was sorry to find them running into a light, frothy, and, it seemed to me, an irreverent spirit. They often speak of God, the Judgment, and the most sacred things, in the most common way. One preacher said that he did not fear God, hell, nor the Judgment, because he was prepared for translation, &c. I thought that this was going a little too far.

I was credibly informed that Eld. Thurman has abandoned his ’68 time, and now is positive that the Lord is coming in ’75. It will be remembered that the Crisis a short time ago lauded Eld. T. to the skies; but now it is noticed that they are very silent about him and his chronology. He was at this Conference, but took no part in any way.

I was glad to hear them bear a very decided testimony against tobacco. Further than this, not a word was said about Health Reform in any way, yet they profess to believe in it.

It is my conviction that soon division upon division will come up among this people. The reason for this is that there is nothing to keep them together but “time,” and on this they are not agreed. They are “in the dark, without the law, without the ark.” They are making no preparation for the time of trouble which is coming, for the reason that they do not think that it is coming.

Now, can the Lord be leading a people who are thus in the dark and confusion, divided and subdivided, and not able to give any certain information as to where we are, or to explain the disappointments in the past? God does not leave his people thus. After looking at all these things, I felt to thank God for the third angel’s message.

D. M. CANRIGHT.