An Astonishing Fact by George I. Butler

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Oct 15, 1872

An Astonishing Fact.

By George I. Butler

THE notorious Nathan Fuller, formerly of Wellsville, New York, has moved to Marion, Iowa, and has been received into the church of which H. E. Carver is elder, and of which the Hope of Israel is the organ, and is preaching for that church.

As the Hope has been careful not to reveal this fact, and let its readers know the kind of man who teaches the leading church of their people, a decent regard for the honest and respectable among their membership requires that we should do it for them; and were it not for the hope that we might benefit some one, we would leave this wicked man without public notice, to receive the punishment his terrible crimes deserve at the hands of a just God. But when it comes to this, that a professedly Christian church receives such a man as a member, and permits him to occupy the pulpit as a Christian minister, which he has so terribly disgraced in the past, when its own leaders are acquainted with the facts concerning his record, it becomes somebody’s duty to make his case known.

The facts which we shall state are obtained from his own confession after his crimes could no longer be concealed, and from the testimony of his victims, and as recorded in the public prints. The great difficulty connected with making a statement of them is, that they are of such a character as to be unfit to appear upon paper. Suffice it to say that this man Fuller, living near Wellsville, N. Y., a minister of the gospel, was in the habit, for years, of seducing females of his own flock, in one case even upon returning from the water where he had administered baptism to her, of training up young girls to habits of infamy, of trading wives for the time being with some of his own ilk, and finally attempting the ruin of the wife of his own son. This last case resulted in bringing his infamous crimes to light. I have the facts at my command which show his course in many cases. The way he succeeded so well in covering up his abominations was to profess great penitence, and declare it was the first instance in his life, and plead with many tears for forgiveness, and promise repentance and reformation. By thus adding lying to his other sins, he went on for years, escaping detection. As soon as his sins came to light, he was cast out of the denomination of which he was a member, his credentials taken from him, and he came near being summarily dealt with by an outraged community. Many of these facts can be obtained in the following papers: The Wellsville Free-press, of July 14, 1869. The Elmira Daily Gazette, of July 15, 1869. The Orleans Times and Freeman, of the same date, and other papers. They were also stated in the REVIEW AND HERALD, July, 1869.

He sneaked away from the country where he was too well known, and after some months spent in wandering here and there, turned up in Macomb Co., Mich., where he worked himself into the good graces of the Methodists, so that they let him preach, and exhort, for them. After he had gained their confidence, they probably not knowing his former conduct, he took such a course among them that charges of a similar nature were soon preferred against him there, and he leaves for Marion, Iowa, and after a time is taken into the church as I stated in the beginning of this article, and preaches for the edification of our friends of the Hope of Israel. Now we know there are honorable and respectable people connected with that church. Some of them we are personally acquainted with and respect, and we have all charity to believe them ignorant of these terrible facts; and we believe they will thank us for thus opening their eyes to the true state of the case. We would advise all such that their leaders need watching. They were not ignorant of Fuller’s true character. They have been too close readers of the REVIEW the last few years to plead ignorance in reference to this man. What can we think of men in an influential position in a Christian church who will advise the reception of such a notorious character as Nathan Fuller as a member, and permit him to stand in their pulpit to teach them Christian ethics, and they knowing to such facts. It is almost too much to believe, and yet we have good authority for it. I pity honorable private members when led by such leaders. May these facts open their eyes. No plea of repentance on his part will do. He has declared in the most solemn manner, and with his eyes full of tears, his penitence over and over again to his victims; and yet the same trail of wickedness follows him so that he cannot be believed. If he had any sense of decency left, he would never appear in the pulpit again, but hide his head in oblivion. Had he done so, he would have saved us this notice. GEO. I. BUTLER.