This issue features Joshua V. Himes, the pioneer who, second only to William Miller himself, was dedicated to publishing and promoting the message of the second coming of Jesus.
Empowered to Lighten the Earth
"In a large degree through our publishing houses is to be accomplished the work of that other angel who comes down from heaven with great power and who lightens the earth with his glory."--Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 7, p. 140.
The beginnings of the Seventh-day Adventist publishing work, the important and powerful work of "that other angel," can be traced to that December meeting between Joshua V. Himes and William Miller (see article on Himes). No longer could the simple farmer remain in the background. Himes became one of the greatest publicity agents of his time; the mouthpiece, yes, the amplifier for Miller. The searchlight of publicity was turned squarely upon him, and a new field of endeavor opened up before him. The publishing work was used by God to accomplish this. Like a miracle it opened up the great cities to Miller; and within three years, Miller's name and doctrine became household words.
Miller had felt the need of a medium of communication with the public which would present his views and act as a shield against the abusive attacks of other journals. Joshua V. Himes was used of God to start the first adventist newspaper, The Signs of the Times, on March 20, 1840. By the end of the first year the subscription list stood at 1,500. In July, 1841, Josiah Litch became associate editor; and in April, 1842, the paper was changed from a semi-monthly to a weekly publication. In 1841, readers were offered a 20% commission to act as agents for the paper.
The Berean Society was formed in larger cities to establish reading rooms where books and literature on the prophecies were available to the public. A series of books and pamphlets by Miller and others was published and sold or lent for use in these reading rooms. These included Miller's Lectures, which were published by Himes in Boston in 1842. It was this latter publication that convinced Joseph Bates and Charles Fitch of the truth of the advent message.
From November 17 to December 17, 1842, the first volume of The Midnight Cry! was published in New York. Twenty-six editions of ten thousand copies each were published daily and hawked on the streets by newsboys or distributed otherwise. Simultaneously, a series of lectures was offered. On completion of the first volume, the second volume was published as a weekly. Shortly after the disappointment, in October of 1844, the name was changed to The Morning Watch!.
Many newspapers which lasted only a few weeks or months were printed to publicize the meetings. Among those that endured longer were The Voice of Truth in Rochester, The Western Midnight Cry! in Cincinnati, Trumpet of Alarm in Philadelphia, and the Voice of Elijah in Montreal.
By October 22, 1844, eight million copies of The Midnight Cry!, Signs of the Times, and other published works, including advent hymn books and the 1843 chart, had been scattered to the ends of the earth.
From these flourishing roots which began with such a vision as Joshua Himes had, a new work sprang up, directed and nurtured by God. To the Seventh-day Adventist group came the message through Ellen White:
"At a meeting held in Dorchester, Mass., November, 1848, I had been given a view of the proclamation of the sealing message, and of the duty of the brethren to publish the light that was shining upon our pathway.
"After coming out of vision, I said to my husband: 'I have a message for you. You must begin to print a little paper and send it out to the people. Let it be small at first; but as the people read, they will send you means with which to print, and it will be a success from the first. From this small beginning it was shown to me to be like streams of light that went clear round the world.'"--The Publishing Ministry p. 15, 16.
The Present Truth was launched in June, 1849, with the publication of a thousand copies of the first issue. Joseph Bates, published a 72-page pamphlet in 1849 entitled, A Seal of the Living God. In November, 1850, The Present Truth was enlarged, and the name changed to the Advent Review and Sabbath Herald and printed in Paris, Maine. Under the guidance and protection of God, this paper has continued to this day as the general paper of the Seventh- day Adventist Church and now is named the Adventist Review.
"The publications sent forth from our printing houses are to prepare a people to meet God."--Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 7, p. 139.
"We are not only to publish the theory of the truth, but to present a practical illustration of it in character and life. Our publishing institutions are to stand before the world as an embodiment of Christian principles."--Ibid., p. 142.
The commission to publicize the soon-coming of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords--to warn the world of the close of probation and complete "the proclamation of the sealing message"--falls on the remnant described in prophecy as they "that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus." (Revelation 14:12)
Results from surveys made in various large cities together with the recent experience of giving away multiplied thousands of copies of The Great Controversy, reprinted under various names, indicate that in the larger cities of the United States, knowledge of the Seventh-day Adventist message is limited.
It is time again for God to raise up many like Joshua Himes, to revitalize the church presses, and to empower multiplied thousands of "desktop" publishers who will scatter the printed page with the word that the sealing time, and the sealing message of the Seventhday Sabbath is soon to end with the glorious return of our Lord and Saviour.
From an understanding of the beginnings and importance of the publishing work, may inspiration and insight be gained that will motivate God's remnant church with greater desire to warn the world of the close of probation and the soon coming of Christ in great glory. At the close of probation the opportunity to know and love God will cease because of the maturation of rebellion in all who do not believe His Word and who reject the love of God.
"Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings." (Revelation 10:11)
"Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen." (Revelation 1:7)
"Behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be." (Revelation 22:12)
Editorial Prowess
No man of the present age, perhaps, has done more for the cause of Christianity, in raising a barrier against the desolating flood of infidelity which has well-nigh overwhelmed the church and the world, than William Miller.
The doctrine of the second coming of Christ, and the great objects of his coming, had well-nigh become obliterated from the mind of the community, or, if believed at all, it was feebly, and with faint impressions with respect to its near approach; the great mass of religious teachers were almost perfectly asleep, assuring their people that they had nothing to fear of the coming of the Judge these one thousand years at least, yet. The doctrine of the resurrection was almost obliterated from the pulpit theology of the age. Yes, the great doctrine, on which rests the whole Christian fabric, was well-nigh abandoned to the enemy. How seldom was it heard from the pulpit, that, as truly as the body of Christ was raised from the grave by the power of God, so surely all that are in the graves will come forth; they that have done good, at Christ's coming, to the resurrection of life, and they that have done evil, at the end of the one thousand years, to the resurrection of damnation. ...
It is a fact which should make a deep impression on the minds of those interested in this cause, and excite them to diligence in the work of circulating these writings, that it is only where men read, after having their minds called up to the subject, that they become confirmed and consistent believers in the doctrine. But there is but little doubt in the case of one who reads and studies the subject faithfully, but that he will be confirmed in its truth.--Comments from the preface to Vol. III of Miller's Works, printed in Boston, by J.V. Himes in 1842.
Scoffers Shall Come in the Last Days
The spirit of lying was "... prevalent, especially among many of the conductors of the public press," Himes said in an editorial in Signs of the Times, September 21, 1842, p. 8, regarding those who scoffed at the advent message. His droll method of counteracting the media's gibes was simply to reprint the ludicrous assertions in his Scoffer's Corner without comment. The candid, unprejudiced reader could easily discern their falsehood. The press attacked the men, the message, and the believers. "William Miller is a weak-minded, vain and self-confident old man," published one. "I call him an imposter," charged another. "His believers are becoming insane," reported still another. Himes was labeled an embezzler by men who perceived his motives as selfish.
"Marvelous beyond expression is the blindness of the people of this generation. Thousands reject the word of God as unworthy of belief. ... Skeptics and scoffers ... divert themselves by holding up to ridicule the solemn declarations of Scriptures concerning Christ and the plan of salvation. ..."--The Great Controversy, p. 561.
But, when Christ appears, "The derisive jests have ceased. Lying lips are hushed into silence. ... The cry bursts forth from lips so lately scoffing, 'The great day of His wrath is come, and who shall be able to stand?'"--Ibid., p. 642.
Campmeeting
The camp meeting had been used for revival and evangelistic purposes for some time, but not by the Millerites before Himes joined them. At a general conference of advent believers called by Joshua V. Himes in Boston in May, 1842, it was voted to schedule several camp meetings.
The first of these camp meetings at East Kingston, New Hampshire, was directed by Himes. He reported in the Signs of the Times, July 13, 1842, that ten to fifteen thousand attended that camp meeting. Curious visitors and media men swelled the attending throng. Even John Greenleaf Whittier was among those who wrote describing the event. He was evidently impressed with the organization of the meetings and the sincerity of the worshippers.
He wrote, "When I reached the ground, a hymn ... was pealing through the dim aisles of the forest. ... The preachers were placed in a rude pulpit of rough boards, carpeted only by the dead forest leaves and flowers, and tasselled ... with the green bows of the somber hemlocks around it. One of them followed the music in an earnest exhortation on the duty of preparing for the great event ... and his description of the last day had the ghastly distinctness of Anelli's painting of the End of the World."[1]
He vividly described, "The white circle of tents; the dim wood arches; the upturned, earnest faces; the loud voices of the speakers, burdened with the awful symbolic language of the Bible. ..."[2]
At the East Kingston camp meeting an offering was taken up to purchase a very large tent capable of holding a much larger number of worshippers under one roof. Himes carried the idea forward to completion with exemplary enthusiasm and fully believed there was no time to lose if Christ was coming about 1843.
The great tent was the largest tent in the country, and perhaps the world. With an 120 foot diameter and a center pole of 55 feet, this tent could seat 4000 comfortably; and 2000 extra could squeeze into the aisles. It would also provide protection from inclement weather. "It was no small task to set up the great tent, and with transportation facilities poor, it was an even greater task to move it from one place to another. This they did eight times over from the twenty-eighth of June to the third of November. ..."[3]
"Newspapers were astonished at the speed with which it was dismantled, transported by wagon, steamboat, or train, and raised in another town. When it was pitched, people wagered that it wouldn't fill. When meetings began, they were stunned to see it jammed."[4] About one half million people attended the one hundred twenty-five camp meetings held from 1842 through to October of 1844!
Ellen White said this concerning camp meetings, "This method of presenting the truth to the people is by the devising of our God. ... Our camp meetings should be so conducted as to accomplish the greatest possible amount of good."[5]
"We have been perplexed to know how to break through the barriers of worldliness and prejudice, and bring before the people the precious truth which means so much to them."[6]
Himes declared, "Our Work is one of unutterable magnitude. It is a mission and an enterprise. ... It is an alarm, and a CRY, uttered by those who, as watchmen standing upon the walls of the moral world, believe the World'S Crisis Is Come!"[7]
"The Lord has instructed us that the camp meeting is one of the most important instrumentalities for the accomplishment of this work."[8]
Action and on a large scale and without delay that was the spirit of Joshua V. Himes
Do you really believe this doctrine?"
The question seemed to reverberate through the dimly lit drawing room as the two men faced each other. The younger of the two, eagerly searching for a cause in which to spend his radical energy and remarkable talents, addressed the elder, an honest farmer and avid Bible student whose lectures on Christ's soon coming were beginning to shake the world.
"I certainly do, or I would not preach it." Miller affirmed.
"Well then," urged Joshua Himes, "what are you doing to spread it throughout the world?"
For eight years Miller had been going mostly to small towns. He had done all he could and had no way to progress any faster in spite of the urgency of his message.
"Well," charged Himes, "If Christ is to come in a few years, as you believe, no time should be lost in giving the church and the world warning in thunder-tones to arouse them to prepare."
"What can an old farmer do?" Miller defended himself and pled, "No one, as yet, seems to enter into the object and spirit of my mission, so as to render me aid. I have been looking for help. I want help."
"Then, Father Miller," challenged Himes excitedly, "Prepare for the campaign; for doors shall be opened in every city in the Union, and the warning shall go to the ends of the earth!"
Because of this conversation and his conviction that the advent message was truth, Himes dedicated himself, his family, and all he had upon the altar of God. How this stimulating interview in December of 1839 came about, and the amazing results that followed it, make a fascinating, inspiring story.
Joshua Vaughan Himes was born in Wickford, Rhode Island, on May 19, 1805. His home and early education must have been outstanding so as to produce the dynamic personality, principled character, and talented businessman that he became.
Joshua was to have been educated for the ministry, or so his earnest Episcopalian parents had planned. Instead of this, adverse business dealings forced his father to apprentice him at the age of sixteen to William Knights, a Unitarian cabinetmaker in New Bedford, Massachusetts. This apprenticeship lasted from 1821 to 1825--five long, full years.
At first Joshua attended church with his employer, but could not accept the Unitarian beliefs which negated the teachings of Christ and His disciples. He decided to join the First Christian Church of New Bedford. On February 2, 1823, at just 18 years of age, he was baptized and began preaching. He was licensed as an "exhorter," and continued preaching on the side until 1825 when he completed his apprenticeship. That same year, the Massachusetts Conference of the Christian Church in New Bedford commissioned Joshua as a selfsupporting missionary. Joshua Himes became a minister after all. Whether he made cabinets to support himself is never mentioned.
In November of 1826, Joshua married his sweetheart of New Bedford, Miss Mary Thompson Handy. They were eventually to have a large family of nine boys. Very little is written about Mary except that she supported Joshua in his varied activities and later became a leading member of the Boston Female Antislavery Society. Mary would have been considered a female activist in a time when women, by tradition, were relegated exclusively to caring for the home and family.
In 1828, Himes moved to Plymouth and, in 1829, to Fall River, Massachusetts. In each place he worked, he preached wherever he could get a hearing. His enthusiasm and talent must have caught the attention of some leaders of the Christian Church, for in 1830, at the age of 25, he was moved to the First Christian Church at Boston. This church had gone through poor times and the membership had dwindled to only seven families. Within just two years, Himes had the chapel filled.
"Himes saw Christianity as a guide to reforming the world and entered any cause which seemed to promise success in any degree."[9]
During the first seven years in Boston, youthful, energetic Himes espoused a variety of social reform movements:
Anti-Slavery: Himes was a good friend and staunch supporter of William Lloyd Garrison. His church donated $14.00 in 1833 to the Abolitionist, official organ for the Anti-slavery Society.
Nonresistance (Pacifist) Society: He was once elected director of this radical group which also supported Women's Rights.
Education: He supported a boy's trade school, Cherry Farm Hill, where boys could earn and learn at the same time.
Temperance: Himes served as a traveling lecturer on this subject.
A substantial group of church members became dissatisfied with his pastoral work, considereing him too radical and progressive a pastor. In 1837, they informed Himes that they wished to hire another pastor in his place. Though he sought to avoid this dismissal at first, he finally left peaceably, taking with him a portion of the church's membership that sympathized with him. They purchased a property on Chardon Street and built a church with a capacity for 500. Soon it was filled and under Himes's leadership, Chardon Street Christian Church became famous as the site of some of the most radical reform conventions of the times.
Himes met Miller in 1839 in Exeter, New Hampshire. He was so impressed with Miller's message that he invited him to speak at the Chardon Street Chapel. "On December 18, 1839, Miller presented his first series in a major city. Interest was so great that meetings were scheduled twice a day, yet hundreds had to be turned away for lack of space."[10]
It was after hearing Miller's lectures at Chardon Street Chapel that the conversation at the beginning of this article took place.
Himes testified that when Mr. Miller had closed his lectures, he could not continue preaching nor believing as he had before. Light on the subject was blazing on his conscience day and night. Himes, "a man of faith and audacity and a born promoter, set out to find openings for Miller to preach."[11]
Besides influencing other pastors of the Christian Church in the large cities to open their doors to Miller's lectures, Himes became the prime mover, often editor and publisher, of a series of powerful religious newspapers and advent sermons and hymnals that were destined to circle the globe. He ingeniously stimulated interest in the advent message by inviting full and free discussion in the first advent newspaper, The Signs of the Times.
He organized a number of general conferences on the advent and encouraged the scheduling of camp meetings to prepare people for the advent. The combined effect was so successful that thousands were converted to Christ and joyfully embraced the hope of the advent message. He was often heard remarking enthusiastically that what we do must be done quickly!
"Action, and on a large scale and without delay--that was the spirit of Joshua V. Himes."[12] "Through the distribution of their papers to sailors and by the sending of publications to every English and American mission in the world, [the Millerite] message was preached ... to the far corners of the earth."[13] "Himes was the great Napoleon of the press and business manager of the cause. He was the very personification of activity."[14]
Miller declared that, based on the Jewish New Year, he expected Christ's coming somewhere between March, 1843 and March, 1844. But this period came and went, and Jesus did not appear. However, the leaders had been cautious to declare on the printed page, "If we are mistaken in the time, and the world still goes on... we shall have the satisfaction of having done our duty.... Can we ever regret that souls were converted--that the virgins were awakened, and prepared to meet their Lord?"[15]
Himes had cautioned regarding time-setting, "We have no right to be dogmatic respecting it; and we should consider how fallible we are, and how liable we are to be deceived. We should therefore so live that we may be prepared for the earliest appearing of our Lord; and yet also so manage our affairs in connection with the business of life, that we may occupy till He come."[16]
While Miller and Himes were on a journey to encourage the believers, Elder Samuel S. Snow began preaching what he described as "The Midnight Cry," proclaiming that the tarrying time was due to end on the tenth day of the seventh month of the Jewish calendar, or October 22, 1844. "When Miller and Himes returned to the East at the end of summer, they found the Adventist front aflame with the torches of the midnight cry."[17] In late August, Himes accepted the new message, and on October 6, Miller also endorsed it.
October 22, 1844 came and passed, and an even greater disappointment was felt by the believers. The Millerites grouped and regrouped around different ideas. The Albany Conference, or main body of Adventists, believed that Jesus was soon to come, but that they should not try to set a date. They attempted in April of 1845 to form a permanent organization. Himes was among the leaders, along with Miller and Litch, who organized this group. Another group believed that the prophecies and the dates were correct, but that the event was wrong. They studied their Bibles to discern their error and later became the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Others abandoned their hope of the advent as a delusion; and others still continued setting new dates.
The Albany Conference split in 1855 into the American Millennial Association which Himes joined in 1855, and the Advent Christian Church which he joined in 1863. At age 70, in 1875, Himes joined the Episcopal Church where he remained up until his death in 1895. Throughout his long life, he continued watching for the advent.
He told Dr. Kress at the Battle Creek Sanitarium, that "The Seventh-day Adventists were raised up to carry the work forward to completion--in calling the people in all the world to move forward into the eternal land of promise."[18] He mentioned to J. N. Loughborough while traveling on the train in 1894, that "He was thankful he had never opposed the work of Mrs. E. G. White."[19]
If Joshua Vaughan Himes had lived today, perhaps he would ask the same questions of each Seventh-day Adventist today that he asked of Father Miller, "Do you really believe this doctrine? Well then, what are you doing to spread it throughout the world?"
The Midnight Cry!
Joshua V. Himes, Publisher
Dear Brethren and Sisters:--We find that we have arrived at a most solemn and momentous crisis; and from the light we have, we are shut up to the conviction that the 10th day of the seventh month, must usher in the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ. We therefore find our work is now finished and that all we have to do, is to go out to meet the Bridegroom, and to trim our lamps accordingly. In looking back upon our past labors, we can see the workings of God's providence. At first the message of the coming Saviour was given, and its evidence presented in all kindness and love. The effect was, by the blessing of God, efficacious in the conversion of many souls. But then men arose on every hand, to overthrow the truth, it became necessary to fight the battles of the Lord, and to finish the controversies of Zion. We seemed, then to be moved to enter the arena of debate, and contended earnestly for the faith once delivered to the saints. But now we find that our controversies are all over--that the battle has been fought, and our warfare ended. And now we wish to humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God, that we may be accepted at His coming. ...
We have been slow of heart to believe all that Moses and the prophets have spoken, and all our labors and toils appear to us as nothing; and that at best we have been but unprofitable servants. We can therefore only offer the prayer of the publican,--God be merciful to us sinners.
We feel that we are now making our last appeal; that we are addressing you through these columns for the last time. In this crisis we must stand alone. If any are hanging upon our skirts, we shake them off.--Your blood be upon your own heads. We ask forgiveness of God and all men, for every thing in which we may have been inconsistent with His honor and glory; and we desire to lay ourselves upon His altar. Here we lay our friends and worldly interests, and trust alone in the merits of Christ's atoning blood, through the efficacious and sanctifying influence of God's Holy Spirit, for pardon and forgiveness and acceptance at the Father's mercy seat. May the blessing of God rest upon all of us; and that we may all meet in God's everlasting Kingdom, is the prayer of your unworthy servant.
Notes: