p. 204 | The Sanctuary by Uriah Smith

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Dec 22, 1874

The Sanctuary.

By Uriah Smith

In the World's Crisis, of Nov. 25, 1874, an article on this subject, by Miles Grant, opens as follows: “It is claimed by the Seventh-day Adventists that the sanctuary to be cleansed at the end of the 1300 [2300] days, mentioned in Dan. 8:13, 14, is in heaven, and that the cleansing began in the autumn of A. D. 1844. If any one should ask why they thus believe, the answer would be, the information came through one of Mrs. E. G. White's visions.”

Let us contrast this statement with the facts in the case. Works upon the Sanctuary are among our standard publications. Hundreds of articles have been written upon the subject. But in no one of these are the visions once referred to as any authority on this subject, or the source from whence any view we hold has been derived. Nor does any preacher ever refer to them on this question. The appeal is invariably to the Bible, where there is abundant evidence for the views we hold on this subject. All this Mr. G. well knows. But his object being not to make a candid statement of facts for the information of his readers, but to create prejudice which shall prevent them from listening to the views we may present, he imagines his purpose will be best accomplished by representing that the only authority we have for our belief is a vision of Mrs. White's. Therefore he resorts to this course, though at the expense of truth. We charge him in the above with uttering a willful and malicious falsehood.

U. S.