The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1889-11-24
END OF THE WORLD.
The ''9IiIleriteS," of Virginia. Located 1t
in October


in October.
The ''Millerites" have been at it again. In
deed there has scarcely been u year since man
advanced far enough to hOp2 fer or dread the
future that they have not in some part of the
world been at it. Their first general sensa-
ton in the United States was in 1913, when a
large congregation gathered on a hill in
southern Indiana to ascend together; and
their second Ia 1874, the plea having been
made that a minute error had misled them q
year. In the west there remained a scattered
few, who finally concluded that the last day
and great judgment was to como in 1857.
"Millerite," by the way, must be carefully
distinguished from Second Adventist, though
many confound them. The Second Advent
lists are really doing work OF some value to
Christianity and do not pretend to set the
date of the second coming,n though they
maintain that it is nearer than is generally
believed. A 'Millerite' may be defined as
Second Adventist who has become fanatical
enough to believe that he knows the day, and
they are SO named from Rev. William Miller,
who scared many thousands of people be-
tween 1895 and 1850. In 1910 he was directing
the publication of the Signs of the Times,
and little later of the Advent Herald, Mid
night Cry and Millennial Harbinger 1t is
impossible to convey to the present genera
ton of readers any fair conception of the
awful reality with which he clothed his i'd
dresses. A reporter of the period who at
tended his noted Second Advent camp meet
ing at East Kingston, New Hampshire, says:
Suspended from the front Of the rude
pulpit were two broad sheets of canvas, upon
one of which was the figure of man with
head of gold, breast and arms of silver, belly
of brass, legs OF iron and feet of clay-the
dream Of Nebuchadnezzar. On the other
were depicted the wonders of the Apocalyp-
tic vision: the beast, the dragon and the
scarlet woman, Oriental SMILES translated
into staring Yankee realities and exhibited
like the beasts of q travelling menagerien
And this queer chart has been initiated or
parodied by all succeeding bands of Miller
ties" The latest form Of it appeared in
Michigan two or three years ago. But the
men who organized the late ascension camp
meeting" in Virginia appear to have outdone
all their predecessors in grotesque folly. The
very name of the place is suggestive, for they
met at Screamersville, Va, to ''go up" on
some day between Oct. and %. Dickens
could not have invented better name. Here
is part Of their address:
The forty-flfth anniversary of the going out OF
the church to meet the Lord in October, 1874 will
Le observed by the AdventistS Of Virginia from
Oct. 5 to Oct. - QncluSive), 1889. This meeting
is called because the evidences from the prophetic
word warrant us IN expecting our Lords return
at this time. The meeting will be held in Scream
crsville, Va, where the Virginia mission tent is
now pitched and win remain All our brethren
who are looking for the Lord and desire 10 meet
with Us are invited
Any one wishing to help this meeting with
money (and it is needed, can correspond with A.
\. Canaday, Fredericksburg, Va. We hope TO
have grand meeting, and believe it to be our las:
before Jesus comes. Lord Jesusl help Us to be
ready, is our prayer.
A. A CANADAY, HulAH L. CRAgFoRD,
WYATT a. CLARK, L. T. PENDLEroS,
Z. c. Brown.
Like Father Miller they were disappointed,
but unlike him they did not rise grandly to
the occasion. On the 18th of March, 1874, he
closed his labors, stating that he had given
500 lectures on the subject since 1892. A
little later he announced that a failure to
allow for the error of the Roman calendar
had misled him, but his belief remained I'M
shaken that October would fetch it. "Breth-
rem be said and wrote, "the Lord will Ger
tainly leave the mercy seat on the 18th and
appear NlSlDly Oh Tie III. OUCe more the
SPEEDY Adventists" gave up secular bust
ness, hut in the next issue of The Advent
Herald the editor had TO admit that the
promise of his valedictory in the preceding
one had failed. And poor old Father Miller,
now shaking with palsy but with his mag
niicenr voice as strong as ever, cried aloud
in pubic places:
II am fixed-another and a near time is
set-and here 1 mean TO stand until God gives
me more light, and that is today, today and
today until he comes.n
People who have not made SPECIAL study
Of the subject would be surprised to learn
how many last day. movements there have
been in the United States and Canada. In
1885 John Nickerson, of Corinna, Me-, set
April % as the finality and gained over 100
converts. They spent many weeks in most
fantastic methods Of driving out pride,n
''crucifyiug the flesh" and purifying them
selves generally. Some women crawled the
whole length of the village through the mud
and slush. One man had himself buried to
tho neck in the earth. Many paid old debts
which time had outlawed, end a country
editor, whose kumor rose superior to the
terror OF the impending day, announced that
an "old hake III - had paid up q nine
years delinquent subscription, and the most
hardened agnostic cannot doubt his CONVEX
sion IL is worth noting that there was at
the same time another excitement i'll progress
there. its promoters insisting that 1889 was
the year, and that furious debates took place
between the two.