Seventh Day Adventist Pioneers in the Black Work from 1860-1910

2 With two horns like a lamb a beast arose So with two leading forms a power has risen, Two fundamental principles, than which in all the earth none can be found more mild, More lamb-like in their outward form and name. A land of freedom, pillared on the broad And open basis of equality; A land reposing neath the gentle sway of civil and religious liberty. Lamb-like in form, is there no dragon-voice Heard in our land? No notes that harshly grate Upon the ear of mercy, love and truth? And put humanity to open shame? Let the united cry of millions tell Millions that groan beneath oppressions rod, Beneath the sin-forged chains of slavery, Robbed of their rights, to brutes degraded down, And soul and body bound to others will Let their united cries, and tears, and groans, That daily rise, and call aloud on Heaven For vengeance, answer; let the slave reply. O land of boasted freedom! Thou hast given The lie to all thy loud professions, first, of justice, liberty and equal rights; And thou hast set a foul and heinous blot upon the sacred page of liberty; And whilst thou traffickest in souls of men, Thou hurlst defiance, proud, in face of Heaven Soon to be answered with avenging doom.1

The Seventh Day Adventist church has a rich past. Out of the Great Disappointment of 1844 and on the heels of the Second Great Awakening, a new denomination sprang to life. The Adventist movement began with a sincere group of people from many different denominations and focused on trumpeting the second coming of Jesus Christ. Even though they loved America, many of the early Adventist leaders pointed to this great nation as one of the beasts of Bible prophecy. They referred to

Uriah Smith, The Warning Voice of Time and Prophecy. Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, 23 June 1853, 8.

3 slavery as proof of this status. Additionally, all of the early Adventist founders abhorred and condemned the practice of slavery in the Southern United States. Adventists sought to reach all people with the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and this included ministering to black people in the South. By demonstrating the love of Christ, they strove to end the twin abominations of slavery and racism in the United States. Years after the Civil War, Adventists began their work in the South to evangelize the newly freed African Americans. In order to follow the Adventist position on slavery, the history of the Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) church must be understood. Modern Seventh Day Adventists trace their roots to the Millerite movement of the early 1800s. William Miller, a former deist from Low Hampton, NY, began preaching at the age of fifty. He studied Bible prophecy and concentrated on the imminent return of Jesus Christ. He believed that Jesus would return to the earth in 1843-1844. He reached this conclusion based on Daniel 8:14 that says as follows: And he said to me, unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed. He deduced that the twenty-three hundred evenings and mornings were literal years and should be counted from 457 BC when the command went forth to rebuild Jerusalem in Daniel 9:24-25. When Jesus failed to return on two different dates set by Miller, he discontinued the promotion of his ideas and the Millerites dispersed. October 22, 1844 is now known as the Great Disappointment. 2 Millers idea that the timeline in Daniel ended in 1844 did not die with his seemingly failed predictions. The next day after the Great Disappointment, Mr. Hiram

Slick, Matt. "The History of the Seventh Day Adventist Church." Christian Apologetics Research Ministry. Accessed June 12, 2011. http://carm.org/religiousmovements/seventh-day-adventism/history-seventh-day-adventist-church.

4 Edson claimed that he received a vision of Jesus standing at the altar of heaven. He decided, based on this vision, that Miller was correct about the time of the prophecy but wrong about the place. Jesus was not going to return to the earth. Hiram Edsons vision showed that Jesus was moving into the Holy of Holies in his ministry in the heavenly sanctuary (see Heb. 8:1-2). A retired sea captain, Joseph Bates, followed the teachings of Miller and published a pamphlet that influenced James and Ellen White. As Slick states, it is these three who were the driving force behind the SDA movement.3 Ellen White began to receive visions from God at an early age. There are numerous reports of this, and she wrote extensively about her visions. Ellen White and her family participated in the Millerite movement. Therefore, she followed the advent teachings of William Miller and expected Jesus to return in 1844. However, she never saw any visions about this topic until after the Disappointment.4 After the Great Disappointment, Mrs. White said she saw a vision of an angel guiding Adventists down a narrow path with people falling off to the left and the right of the path. Subsequently, she saw visions that created the three angels message. This doctrine is an interpretation of Rev. 14:6-11, which is as follows: And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people. Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters. And there followed another angel,

Ibid. White Estate. "Issues & Answers Regarding Inspiration and the Life and Work of Ellen G. White." Accessed June 17, 2011. http://www.whiteestate.org/issues/issues.asp
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5 saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all the nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name. Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. The Seventh Day Adventist churchs official position of the three angels message is as follows: The universal church is composed of all who truly believe in Christ, but in the last days, a time of widespread apostasy, a remnant has been called out to keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. This remnant announces the arrival of the judgment hour, proclaims salvation through Christ, and heralds the approach of His second advent. This proclamation is symbolized by the three angels of Revelation 14; it coincides with the work of judgment in heaven and results in a work of repentance and reform on earth. Every believer is called to have a personal part in this worldwide witness. 5

Seventh Day Adventist Church. Accessed June 12, 2011.

http://www.adventist.org/beliefs/fundamental/index.html.

6 From its inception, the Seventh Day Adventist church has been heavily involved in evangelism, missions, and reform. Sabbath keeping, along with the other laws in the Ten Commandments, is among the fundamental beliefs of the SDA church. The Southern United States in the mid-nineteenth century presented a ripe field for the Adventists to proclaim the three angels messages in the final days of Earths history. The Civil War indirectly helped to establish the SDA church. The Adventist movement adopted the name Seventh Day Adventist by 1860 and had a General Conference. However, the SDA church was not officially established until 1863.6 When the Civil War began in 1860, many Adventists took varying positions on conscription. Some were prepared to evade the draft and become martyrs. Others saw no problem with entering the war since the Northern endeavor against the rebels and slavery was righteous. Additionally, the Old Testament of the Bible held many examples of Gods people at war. Almost without exception, Adventists supported Abraham Lincoln and the Northern cause in the Election of 1860. James White emphasizes this point as follows: Those of our people who voted at all in the last Presidential election, to a man voted for Abraham Lincoln. We know of not one man among Seventh-day Adventists who has the least sympathy for secession.7 Furthermore, White writes, Slavery is pointed out in the prophetic word as the darkest and most damning sin upon this nation.8 Nevertheless,

Slick, Matt. "The History of the Seventh Day Adventist Church." Christian Apologetics Research Ministry. Accessed June 12, 2011. http://carm.org/religiousmovements/seventh-day-adventism/history-seventh-day-adventist-church. 7 Robbins, Larry. Lest We Forget Volume 4: Getting to know the people who helped shape the 7th-day Adventist Church. : Atlantic Union Conference Teacher Bulletinn.d. http://circle.adventist.org/download/TBLestIV.pdf., 11 8 Ibid., 11

7 bearing arms for any reason would cause them to break the fourth and sixth commandments of Gods Law. The SDA leaders needed to organize to be acknowledged as a legitimate peaceful religious sect whose members could receive conscientious objector status during times of war. John N. Andrews made the SDA case for pacifism in Washington. Afterward, the SDA denomination no longer had conflicts with the military authorities. The ones who were drafted or enlisted did so as non-combatants and used their situation as a mission field. The SDA work in the South came after the war ended. Becoming conscientious objectors was only one example of Adventists opposing the law of the land in order to uphold the law of God. Ellen White also encouraged Adventists to ignore the fugitive slave laws while slavery was still legal. In 1859, she wrote as follows: The law of our land requiring us to deliver a slave to his master, we are not to obey; and we must abide the consequences of violating this law.9 This counsel is reminiscent of Daniel from the Bible because it encourages Christians to adhere to the laws of man until they violate the laws of God. If the laws of man contradict the Law of God, then a Christian should not obey that law. As previously stated, early Adventists detested the institution of slavery. However, as a peculiar people, their reasons differed from the rest of the evangelical world. Adventists are peaceful and patriotic. Through the spirit of prophecy, they saw America as one of the beasts in the apocalyptic book of Revelation. Revelation 13:11 describes this beast as follows: And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth;

Baker, Delbert W. "Black Seventh-Day Adventists and The Influence of Ellen G. White." Black SDA History. Accessed June 20, 2011. http://www.blacksdahistory.org/files/40199403.pdf., 22.

8 and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon. Ellen Whites book, America in Prophecy (or The Great Controversy) explains the beast as follows: The lamb-like horns and dragon voice of the symbol point to a striking contradiction between the professions and the practice of the nation thus represented. The speaking of the nation is the action of its legislative and judicial authorities. By such action it will give the lie to those liberal and peaceful principles which it has put forth as the foundation of its policy.10 Many prominent Adventist pioneers including Uriah Smith, James White, J. N. Andrews, and John Loughborough identified America as the two-horned beast of Revelation. Their views of slavery as an evil and immoral institution were similar to other evangelical Christian groups of the mid-nineteenth century.11 However, these other groups viewed America as Gods special experiment, different from all other earthly kingdoms that preceded it. 12 The historicist interpretation of the prophecy in the second chapter in Daniel describes the rise and fall of great powers.13 For this reason, Adventists saw America in a different role than other Christian groups. In the Adventists mind, America was no different than previous earthly powers and would fall just like Babylon, MediaPersia, Greece, and Rome. Furthermore, slavery was dragon language coming out of the land of the free and home of the brave. OReggio states, America was a man-made experiment and therefore a sinful enterpriseIt was a dragon beast at its core; it did not

White, Ellen G. "America in Prophecy." The Perfect Storm. Accessed June 17, 2011. http://theperfectstorm.inbookseast.org/pdfs/englishapebookpdf.pdf. 11 O'Reggio, Trevor. "Slavery, Prophecy, and the American Nation as Seen by the Adventist Pioneers, 1854-1865." Journal of the Adventist Theological Society. 12 Ibid., 157 13 Ibid., 157

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9 evolve into one.14 The dragon-like legal enslavement of other human beings marred the lamb-like civil and religious liberty of America. Ellen White experienced a vision in 1861 regarding the horrible curse and degradation of slavery.15 According to her, God was judging America for the high crime of slavery.16 She also said that God was going to punish the South and the North for its crimes against humanity. According to Mrs. White, the North would be punished for allowing the crime to continue unchecked.17 Both sides certainly suffered during the war. After the Civil War, over four million slaves were freed and the South was devastated economically. Ex-slaves were exposed to Christianity, but the SDA church presented a minimal presence prior to the end of slavery. Adventists neglected the southern work for years following the war. This reflects the general attitude of the North during reconstruction. Since the SDA church was formed in the Northeast, it concentrated on spreading west and not south. The south could also be a dangerous place for outsiders who tried to help blacks. These factors may have caused the delay in Adventist missions to the south. The first period of the development of Black Adventism is known as the inactive period and includes the years from 1860 to 1891. When Adventists began missionary work, they turned to whites first. Sporadic, individual effort of lay missionaries and ministers of primarily Southern origin characterized the first efforts in the South. Adventists made little, if any, attempt to evangelize Blacks in the South. White ministers like Elbert Lane, Sands Lane, Charles Taylor, Robert Kilgore, Dudley Canright Ibid., 158 Baker, Delbert W. "Black Seventh-Day Adventists and The Influence of Ellen G. White." Black SDA History. Accessed June 20, 2011. http://www.blacksdahistory.org/files/40199403.pdf., 22. 16 Ibid, 22. 17 Ibid, 22.
15

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10 and John Corliss held evangelistic meetings for Whites in Southern cities.18 According to Robbins, Blacksfound the church after turning up at Adventist meetings without being directly invited.19 The SDAs, admonished by Sister White, later acknowledged there were unreached people in the South. As Baker states, The SDA Church was to model Christs gospel of love and inclusionin practice.20 However, missed opportunities during Reconstruction would make the Black Work even harder in the years to come. Over thirty years after the Civil War, the SDA church became more active in the South. Most people in the nation had problems with inclusiveness during this period in American history, so the SDA church is no different. Ellen White addressed this issue with an historic message entitled Our Duty to the Colored People that was delivered to the General Conference delegates at Battle Creek, Michigan on March 20, 1891. She appealed to the SDA leaders to make up for lost time in the South, and she knew that her words would cause conflict in the church. Ellen White pleaded with church leaders to fulfill the Great Commission by preaching the three angels message to ex-slaves in the south. Her counsel includes at least seven principles to the church involving the Black Work in the south as follows: biblical, moral, humanitarian, empathetic, restitution, societal, and eschatological. The biblical principle is simply following scripture. Jesus commands his followers in Luke 4:18 as follows: The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind,

Robbins, Larry. Lest We Forget Volume 4: Getting to know the people who helped shape the 7th-day Adventist Church. : Atlantic Union Conference Teacher Bulletinn.d. http://circle.adventist.org/download/TBLestIV.pdf., 29. 19 Ibid, 29. 20 Ibid, 22.

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11 to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord. These principles advised SDAs not only to do the work commanded of them by Jesus but also to empathize with the plight of the downtrodden. This would require a change of heart not just a change of actions. Additionally, Ellen white cautioned that if Adventists did not reflect Jesus teachings and reach out to black people, then they would answer for it in the final judgment.21 Some of her words from the original speech are as follows: I know that that which I now speak will bring me into conflict. This I do not covet, for the conflict has seemed to be continuous of late years; but I do not mean to live a coward or die a coward, leaving my work undone. I must follow in my Masters footsteps Sin rests upon us as a church because we have not made great effort for the salvation of souls among the colored people. It will always be a difficult matter to deal with the prejudices of the white people in the South and do missionary work for the colored race. But the way this matter has been treated by some is an offense to God You must have the grace and love of God in order to succeed Pure, unworldly benevolence will be developed in all who make Christ their personal Saviour. There needs to be far less of self and more of Jesus.22 The years following Sister Whites address in 1891 are known as the Active Period. The people that contributed most to the SDA work in the south characterize the Active Period best. Many people worked in this neglected area. However, three people contributed most to this field. Ellen white was the initiator of the Black Work, which can Ibid. White, Ellen G. "Our Duty to the Colored People." Oakwood University. Accessed June 20, 2011. http://www.oakwood.edu/goldmine/hdoc/blacksda/gprr/gprr6.htm.
22 21

12 be seen by her leadership role in the SDA church, and her keynote speech in 1891 mentioned previously. Edson White, Ellen and James son and Charles Kinney also committed to the southern work. Edson White (1849-1928) is best known for his steamboat the Morning Star. This was the flagship SDA mission to the South, and Edson pioneered the southern work by coordinating all of the efforts in the south for African American people. He began and continued his missionary work on the advice of Ellen Whites writings and speeches. The Southern Missionary Society was established in Vicksburg, Mississippi in 1895 aboard the Morning Star. It merged with the Southern Union Conference in 1901. Volunteers that supported themselves ran the ship, and it focused on many areas of improvement for the black community. Franklin H. Bryant, a member of the Morning Star staff, was the first Black Adventist to be published. Baker states regarding the Morning Star, Its programs included education, community assistance, training in self-supporting work, industrial education, and basic principles of thrift, business, and health.23 The work aboard the Morning Star was not easy. Ellen White warned her son that they would be looked upon as Yankees, carpetbaggers, and troublemakers.24 Not only were Edson and his crew evangelizing and teaching black people, they were also preaching the message of the seventh day Sabbath. Many of the local people did not look favorably upon the Morning Star steamboat even though it was a strange sight to behold when it docked in Vicksburg. It included printing presses, two staterooms, and a dining

Baker, Delbert W. "Black Seventh-Day Adventists and The Influence of Ellen G. White." Black SDA History. Accessed June 20, 2011. http://www.blacksdahistory.org/files/40199403.pdf., 26. 24 Bradford, Charles E. "The Morning Star Boat." Message Magazine. Accessed June 20, 2011. http://www.messagemagazine.org/article.php?id=91.

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13 room. It had two paddle wheels. It served as a school, clinic, and dormitory.25 A letter from Ellen to Edson illustrates her visionary gift and the impact this boat would have on many black lives in the South as follows: Dear Son Edson: In answer to your question as to whether it would be well to fit up your steamer Morning Star, to be used for the conveyance of missionary workers to places that otherwise they could not reach, I will say that I have been shown how, when you first went to the Southern field, you used this boat as your home, and as a place on which to receive those interested in the truth. The novelty of the idea excited curiosity, and many came to see and hear. I know that, through the agency of this boat, places have been reached where till then the light of truth had never shoneplaces represented to me as the hedges Manuscript Releases, vol. 3, p. 269).26 Charles Kinney (1855-1951) was known as the father of the Black work. He was born as a slave in Richmond, Virginia. He moved west after the Civil War and attended evangelistic meetings held by J. N. Loughborough in Reno, Nevada. He became the first black ordained SDA minister and the spokesman for black people in the SDA church. He began to state concerns in the areas of race, church policy, and organizational equality.27 He went south to preach to black people telling them that they needed to grow in education, experience, and economic development to reach their potential. Charles Kinney first suggested the creation of Black conferences. He had this idea after efforts to

Ibid. Ibid. 27 Robbins, Larry. Lest We Forget Volume 4: Getting to know the people who helped shape the 7th-day Adventist Church. : Atlantic Union Conference Teacher Bulletinn.d. http://circle.adventist.org/download/TBLestIV.pdf., 34.
26

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14 segregate him and his colleagues at a camp meeting on the day of his ordination. He said that separate conferences would be a way to work more effectively and ease racial tensions in the church. There were over twenty-six thousand black members in North America by the time of his death in 1951. However, there are still exclusively black conferences in the SDA church.28 Although Adventists did not directly advocate for segregation, the separation of blacks and whites was a fact of life in the South. Black Adventist churches consistently grew. The first Black SDA church in Edgefield Junction, Tennessee was founded in 1886. Harry Lowe, a former Baptist minister, was the churchs pastor. The second black SDA congregation was founded in Louisville, Kentucky in 1890 with A. Barry as its first pastor. The third Black Adventist church was established in 1891 in Bowling Green, Kentucky, and C.M. Kinney established the fourth in New Orleans in 1892. Nashville, Tennessee was home to the fifth Black Adventist congregation in 1894.29 Notably, the Oakwood Industrial School, now known as Oakwood University, was founded as a black Seventh Day Adventist school in 1896 on a former plantation in Huntsville, Alabama. This school was the vision of Ellen White and the Southern Missionary Society. Bradford states that several of the first sixteen students at Oakwood were Morning Star converts. Edson White encouraged the young people on his steamboat to enroll at Oakwood. The Morning Star mission started many church schools in

28 29

Ibid., 24. Ibid., 24.

15 Mississippi and throughout the South. Oakwood University in Huntsville, Alabama continues supplies teachers to these schools.30 The effect of the Seventh Day Adventist pioneers work in the South resonates even today. While the church has its challenges with race relations, the command of Jesus to love your neighbor as yourself can be seen in the Seventh Day Adventist church past and present. The SDA pioneers in the Black work from 1860-1910 ministered to freed slaves in the South at their own peril and great personal sacrifice. The work started slowly, but it increased toward the twentieth century. There were only fifty black SDA members in 1890. By 1910, there were more than 3,500 members.31 Robbins states, Black membership increased from 20,000 in the early 1940s to more than 70,000 in the 1950s. Membership in regional (Black) conferences increased to more than 130,000 in the 1980s and to more than 220,000 today.32 The worldwide Adventist church boasts a membership of nearly fourteen million with approximately one million members total in the United States.33 Through the scriptures and ministry of the church, many lives have been touched and changed. During the current period of Laodicia, many Christians are luke-warm. The examples of the early SDA pioneers rebuke those who may be comfortable in their current state. The SDA pioneers in the black work, and all pioneers in the first and second

Bradford, Charles E. "The Morning Star Boat." Message Magazine. Accessed June 20, 2011. http://www.messagemagazine.org/article.php?id=91. 31 Robbins, Larry. Lest We Forget Volume 4: Getting to know the people who helped shape the 7th-day Adventist Church. : Atlantic Union Conference Teacher Bulletinn.d. http://circle.adventist.org/download/TBLestIV.pdf., 28. 32 Ibid., 38. 33 Nation Master. Accessed June 26, 2011. http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/rel_sev_adv_mem-religion-seventh-day-adventistmembership.

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16 Great Awakenings, represent role models for the church today. The self-sacrifice they demonstrated mirrors the example set by Jesus. We must shake ourselves out of the Laodician state mentioned in Revelation 3:14-22 as follows: 14And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God; 15 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. 16So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. 17Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: 18 I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. 19As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. 20Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. 21To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne. 22He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

17 Bibliography Uriah Smith, The Warning Voice of Time and Prophecy. Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, 23 June 1853 Slick, Matt. "The History of the Seventh Day Adventist Church." Christian Apologetics Research Ministry. Accessed June 12, 2011. http://carm.org/religiousmovements/seventh-day-adventism/history-seventh-day-adventist-church. White Estate. "Issues & Answers Regarding Inspiration and the Life and Work of Ellen G. White." Accessed June 17, 2011. http://www.whiteestate.org/issues/issues.asp Seventh Day Adventist Church. Accessed June 12, 2011. http://www.adventist.org/beliefs/fundamental/index.html. Robbins, Larry. Lest We Forget Volume 4: Getting to know the people who helped shape the 7th-day Adventist Church. : Atlantic Union Conference Teacher Bulletinn.d. http://circle.adventist.org/download/TBLestIV.pdf., 11 Baker, Delbert W. "Black Seventh-Day Adventists and The Influence of Ellen G. White." Black SDA History. Accessed June 20, 2011. http://www.blacksdahistory.org/files/40199403.pdf., 22. White, Ellen G. "America in Prophecy." The Perfect Storm. Accessed June 17, 2011. http://theperfectstorm.inbookseast.org/pdfs/englishapebookpdf.pdf. O'Reggio, Trevor. "Slavery, Prophecy, and the American Nation as Seen by the Adventist Pioneers, 1854-1865." Journal of the Adventist Theological Society. White, Ellen G. "Our Duty to the Colored People." Oakwood University. Accessed June 20, 2011. http://www.oakwood.edu/goldmine/hdoc/blacksda/gprr/gprr6.htm. Bradford, Charles E. "The Morning Star Boat." Message Magazine. Accessed June 20,

18 2011. http://www.messagemagazine.org/article.php?id=91. Nation Master. Accessed June 26, 2011. http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/rel_sev_adv_mem-religion-seventh-dayadventist-membership.