LIFE OF WILLIAM MILLER

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Apr 29, 1873

LIFE OF WILLIAM MILLER.

CHAPTER SIX.

NEW DOORS OPEN—HIS LABORS COUNTENANCED BY MINISTERS OF HIS DENOMINATION—HIS FIRST DONATION OF TWO HALF-DOLLARS—DEATH OF HIS MOTHER, &C.

After the commencement of the new year (1835) he lectured, during the first week of January, in Addison, Vt., and the second, in Cornwall, Vt. He then returned home, where he remained till the 12th of February, writing on the 11th to Elder Hendryx as follows:—

“The Lord opens doors faster than I can fill them. To-morrow I have an appointment in Whiting, which will occupy a week. The next week I shall be in Shoreham; the last week in this month, at Bridgeport; the first week in March, in Middletown; the second, in Hoosac. I have calls from Saratoga, Ticonderoga, Moriah, Essex, Champlain, Plattsburgh, Peru, Moore-town, Canton, Potsdam, Hopkinton, Stockholm, Parishville, and other places too numerous to mention. The Lord has blessed me thus far; in almost every place where I have lectured, the Spirit has given fruit. Where I went forth expecting trials and persecution, I have found God a present help. Pray for me, that my faith fail not, and that I may ever feel my weakness, and that my dependence may be on Israel’s God. Pray that I may do my duty in the fear of God, and in the love of the truth; and then, whatever may become of me, God will be glorified and souls saved.”

After filling the two former of those appointments, he returned home till the 8th of March, when he lectured in Bridgeport, Vt., three days, and gave six lectures. He lectured in Granville on the following Sabbath, March 15th, and again returned home.

It seems to have been his intention, when he left home on the 7th of March, to return to Whiting—he having received an invitation to that effect. A powerful work of grace had followed his lectures there, and several infidels had acknowledged the authority of the Scriptures as demonstrated by the fulfillment of prophecy, and were under deep conviction, and wished to see him. Whether he went there or not, does not appear. But, on the 21st of March, he writes, “I have been very sick with a cold, for a day or two past, and I am only able to sit up for a short time.”

On the 19th of April, he again visited Granville, where he also lectured on the 20th and 21st. On the 26th, he lectured at Middletown, N. Y. On the 28th, he again wrote from Low Hampton:—

“I have been laid up with a severe cold, and have been only to two or three places since I wrote last (March 21st). But I have now recovered my health again, so that I have been the last two weeks at Granville and Middletown. Next Sunday (May 3), I am to be at Fort Ann Village, N. Y., if the Lord will; and when I shall get through lecturing in this region, I cannot tell. Doors open faster than I can fill them. I have calls from Wells, Bishop’s Corner, and Timmouth.”

These lectures and sermons of Mr. Miller met the approval of a large number of the ministers of his denomination, with whose approbation, from this time, he went forth as a public laborer, indorsed and sanctioned by the following certificate:—

“March 19, 1835.

“This may certify, to whom it may concern, that we, whose names are hereunto affixed—being ministers in the denomination of regular Baptists—are personally acquainted with Bro. William Miller, the bearer of this certificate; that he is a member, and a licentiate in good regular standing, in the particular Baptist church, in Hampton, N. Y.; that we have heard his lectures on the subject of the Second Coming and Reign of our Lord Jesus Christ; and that we believe his views on that particular subject, as well as others pertaining to the gospel, are worthy to be known and read of all men. As such an one, we commend him to God, and the affectionate acceptance of our brethren in the precious Saviour.

J. Sawyer, Jr., South Reading. E. Halping, Hampton. Amos Stearns, Fort Ann. Emerson Andrews, Lansingburg.

After visiting Fort Ann, N. Y., on the 2d of May, he lectured in Whitehall, N. Y., on the 10th and 17th of the same month; in West Haven, on the 7th of June, and in Middlebury, Vt., on the 14th. From that place he went into the province of Lower Canada, and lectured, on the 21st and 23d, at Bolton; the 25th, at Hunting; the 28th, 29th, and July 1st, at Derby; July 2d, at Georgeville; the 5th and 6th, at Bolton, again; the 7th, at Outlet; and the 8th and 9th, at Stanstead Plain. On the 12th, he lectured at Derby, Vt.; the 13th, at Troy, Vt.; the 14th, at Lowell, Vt.; the 15th, at Eden, Vt.; the 16th, at Cambridge, Vt.; the 17th, at Jericho, Vt.; and the 19th, at Orwell, Vt.

During this tour, while in Canada, a woman placed two half-dollars in his hand, which was all the assistance he received previous to 1836. His expenses for travel, &c., were paid from his own funds.

On his way home from Canada, he was much depressed in his spirits. To use his own words, he was overwhelmed with a dark cloud, for which he could not account. He felt impelled to hasten home, with a presentiment that there was trouble there. Leaving Jericho, Vt., instead of filling several appointments, he took the nearest route, and hastened home with all speed. Calling at Orwell, by the urgent request of his Uncle Phelps, he stopped to speak to the church on the Sabbath, leaving immediately after service for home, where he arrived late at night. His family were astonished to see him return so soon, and he was delighted to find them all well.

At an early hour on Monday he went to visit his mother, to take to her a present from her daughter in Canada. His mother lived about half a mile from Mr. Miller’s, with her son, Solomon. He found her in the enjoyment of good health, and he spent the day with her, returning home unusually interested with his visit. His mother did not receive his views, but always told him to preach the whole truth, as he believed it, and do his duty. Soon after Mr. Miller had left his mother, she was seized with the palsy. Mr. M. was sent for. She was unable to converse any; but, by the pressure of the hand, signified that she knew him, and before the close of the week, expired. Had not Mr. Miller been impressed with a sense of “trouble at home,” he would have taken a more circuitous route, and filled several appointments, according to previous arrangements. By thus changing his original purpose, he enjoyed the opportunity of a day’s conversation with his mother, which he would otherwise have been deprived of. He often recurred to this as a signal instance of God’s favor.

On the 21st of August, he lectured at South Bay, N. Y.; on the 9th, at Dresden, N. Y., and, on the 23d, at South Bay, again. On the 28th, he again writes from Low Hampton, to Elder Hendryx, as follows:—

“I am yet engaged in warning the inhabitants to be prepared for the great day of God Almighty, and am endeavoring to prove by the Scriptures that it is near, even at the doors. . . . I always present this as an inducement for men to repent. I call on them in the name of my dear Master to turn, repent, believe, and obey him. I beseech them, for the value of their souls, to believe in Christ. I implore them to lay up treasures in Heaven. I importune with them, again and again, to read, reflect, examine, and see if the word of God is not true. I show them its complete fulfillment thus far, and then I pray God to direct the arrow to the heart. I ask God, through Jesus Christ, to nerve the arm that pulls the bow, and to sharpen the arrow that twangs from it. I then put all my confidence in God, and in his promise, ‘Lo, I am with you even to the end of the world.’”

“I have this moment received a letter from Bro. Wescott [the Baptist clergyman], to be in Stillwater next Sabbath [August 30th]; and I shall be under the necessity of leaving in a few minutes. I shall be absent until about the 1st of October.

“My good old mother Miller is dead. She died about four weeks since. The rest of us are all in good health.

“Yours in gospel bonds, “Wm. Miller.”

He visited Stillwater, N. Y., according to invitation, and continued there one week, lecturing each day. On the 13th, he was at Bristol. On the 1st of November, he visited Middletown, N. Y., and gave a course of eight lectures. He then lectured again, five days, at Bristol, commencing on the 15th of November; and, beginning on the 20th, he labored five days longer at Middletown—usually giving two lectures each day. On the 6th of December, he was at Whitehall, N. Y.; on the 20th, at Poultney, Vt.; and on the 27th, at Westhaven. This terminated his labors for the year 1835.

On the 3d of January, 1836, he lectured at a “Brother Aborn’s;” on the 24th, at Dresden, N. Y.; on the 7th of February, at Fort Ann Village, N. Y.; on the 13th of March, at Orwell, Vt.; and on the 14th, at Shoreham, Vt. His public lectures during these winter months were interrupted by the preparation of his course of sixteen lectures for the press, which were published in Troy, N. Y., in the spring of this year, by Eld. Wescott. All the copies of that edition supplied to Mr. Miller, he purchased at the regular prices.

On the 24th of April, he again visited Stillwater, N. Y.; and, on the 15th of May, New Haven, Vt. On the 16th, he commenced a course of lectures at Weybridge, Vt., which closed on the 20th. On the day following, he began his labors at Monkton, N. Y., which continued eight days.

On the 19th of June, he visited Lansingburg, N. Y., and continued till the 26th. To pay his stage-fare, he received, on this occasion, four dollars, which, with the two half-dollars received in Canada, was all the remuneration he had thus far received for his expenses. Subsequent to that time, as he says in his “Apology and Defense,” he never received enough to meet his expenses of travel to the places where he was invited; so that his public labors were never of any pecuniary advantage to him, as has been currently reported and believed; but, on the contrary, they were a heavy tax on his property, which gradually decreased during that period of his life.

On the 21st of July, he writes, from Low Hampton, to Elder Hendryx: I have been confined at home, for three weeks past, by a bilious complaint. I was taken unwell while lecturing at Lansingburg, N. Y.; but I finished my course of lectures, and returned home, and have not been well since. My lectures were well received in that place, and excited attention. The house was filled to overflowing for eight days in succession. I feel that God was there, and believe that in his glorified kingdom I shall see the fruits. . . . . . . . . Infidels, Deists, Universalists, and Sectarians, were all chained to their seats, in perfect silence, for hours—yes, days—to hear the old stammering man talk about the second coming of Christ, and show the manner, object, time, and signs, of his coming. O my brother! it makes me feel like a worm—a poor, feeble creature; for it is God only who could produce such an effect on such audiences. Yet it gives me confidence; for I solemnly believe it is truth; and God will support his word, and will be present where it is preached, however feeble the instrument; for ‘Lo, I am with you even to the end of the world.’ Therefore, if I were preaching before all the kings of the earth, why should I fear? for the King of kings is with me. If all the lords were there, yet He is Lord of lords, and of the great men of the earth.”