Replies to Elder Canright’s Attacks on Seventh-day Adventists

“THE SHUT DOOR.”

PERHAPS there is no point upon which opposers of S.D. Adventists and Mrs. White try harder, to cast an unfavorable impression, than that of the “shut door.” They strenuously endeavor to make it appear that S.D. Adventists, from 1845 to about 1851, believed there was no salvation for sinners; that the “door of mercy” was eternally closed, and not a soul, except those who had believed the advent doctrine with Mr. Miller and his followers, could by any possibility be saved. They try their best to make this statement stand against Mrs. White and her husband, and declare positively that this is taught in her visions. Eld. Canright must, of course, rehash this old exploded falsehood, or he would not have a good standing with the other worthies who have propagated it. Hear him, in the Michigan Christian Advocate of October 13, 1887:— RCASDA 99.2

“The shut door. After the time passed in 1844, Seventh-day Adventists believed that probation had ended, that there was no more salvation for sinners. Eld. Butler confesses that this is so. (See The Review and Herald, March 3, 1885.) Mrs. White believed this, and had a revelation saying so, and here it is: ‘The reformations that were shown me, were not reformations from error to truth, but from bad to worse; for those who professed a change of heart had only wrapped about them a religious garb, which covered up the iniquity of a wicked heart. Some appeared to have been really converted so as to deceive God’s people, but if their hearts could be seen they would appear as black as ever. My accompanying angel bade me look for the travail of soul for sinners as used to be. I looked, but could not see it, for the time for their salvation is past.’-The Present Truth, 22, published in August, 1849. They may quibble over this till they die, but there it stands against her, plain enough to any candid man.” RCASDA 99.3

In the above notice is the expression, “After the time passed in 1844, Seventh-day Adventists believed that probation had ended, that there was no more salvation for sinners. Eld. Butler confesses that this is so.” Eld. Butler “confesses” no such thing. The deceptiveness of the statement will appear when we state that there was not an S.D. Adventist in the world in 1844. The present movement had not commenced till some time after that. We do not deny that many of the Advent believers, when the time passed, did believe their work for sinners was done for some little time, and that some who afterward began to keep the Sabbath participated in this view for a season. There was quite a space of time after that before the present move was inaugurated. Several years passed before the believers was fully acquainted with the views held now,-years of patient study of the Bible till the truth was grasped link by link. So S.D. Adventists cannot be made responsible for views held before this denomination existed, or the present truth was developed. RCASDA 99.4

We will go a step farther, and say, S.D. Adventists did hold to a doctrine called the “shut door.” They believed, in harmony with Revelation 3:7, 8, and other scriptures, that at the close of the long prophetic period of 2300 years of Daniel 8:14, Christ changed his ministration from the first apartment of the heavenly Sanctuary to the most holy place, and entered upon the work of the investigative Judgment, changing his relation in this respect to the plan of salvation. Here was a door opened and a door shut. Their work then was very unpopular, and they were shut away by this fact from any in labor, but Advent believers. But we do emphatically deny that S.D. Adventists or Mrs. White believed that any repentant sinner who would come to Christ would be refused. It is a slander to say the contrary. We also declare, with no fears of contradiction, that during his very period when Eld. D. and other opposers of the same ilk teach that she and others believed there was no salvation for sinners, she and they were laboring for the conversion of sinners. Hence their statements cannot be true. RCASDA 100.1

In 1885 the writer, who was a youth at the passing of the time in 1844, and quite well acquainted with the Advent people, wrote a series of articles for the REVIEW AND HERALD on the “Advent Experience” and the shut door, in which all these charges were thoroughly sifted and answered. To give the reader some idea of the conclusions reached, we will give the concluding article, No. 9, of the series:— RCASDA 100.2

In No. 8 we gave extracts showing that what is called the “shut door” doctrine was held by the believers in 1850-51. But we also clearly proved that it excluded only those who rejected the light. We quoted from Eld. White’s language the very strongest expressions which our opponents can find by which they try to make it appear that it was thought that none but the believers in ‘44 could be saved. We have seen how utterly they have failed to prove their position. We will now present other evidences confirming our statements. On page 72 of Present Truth, published in Oswego, N.Y., April, 1850, we have the following item:— RCASDA 100.3

A very interesting work is now going on among the children of the “remnant” in this city. Their salvation has been the principal subject in our meetings for the last two Sabbaths, and God has wonderfully blessed us. The truth has had a good effect on us as well as on our children. In the evening following the last first day we had a meeting for their special benefit, and the Spirit of the Lord was poured out in our midst. The children all bowed before the Lord, and seemed to feel the importance of keeping the commandments, especially the fifth, and of seeking salvation through Jesus Christ. This was one of the most interesting meetings that I ever witnessed. RCASDA 101.1

As this seems to be editorial matter (for there is no signature to it), it must have been from the pen of Eld. White. This was published just one month before the article containing the lengthy extract from his pen which we quoted last week, and which contains those strong statements about the shut door, which opposers say prove that he believed there was no salvation for anybody but old Advent believers. Here we see him laboring,no doubt in connection with his wife, with the deepest interest for the dear children who were “seeking salvation.” God greatly blessed them in their efforts. This had been their principal work for two weeks. It had been a great blessing to them and their children. Yet our opponents conclude from what he published a month later, that they believed none of these children could be saved because they were not believers in ‘44. They were laboring with all their might for the salvation of those who they thought could not be saved! This may be their conclusion, but certainly it is not ours. We know, therefore, that they held no such views of the shut door as opposers attribute to them. RCASDA 101.2

In the November number of The Present Truth, 84, 85, we have an account of the conversion of young persons, and the baptism of one who must have been to young to have been a believe in 1844. This passage occurs in a letter of S.W. Rhodes’s, who was a prominent laborer at that time, and shows what kind of a shut door they believed in. RCASDA 101.3

On the last page of the last number of Present Truth, in a letter from Eld. Joseph Bates, we find the following: “Our meeting at Waitsfield was blessed of God. Bro. and Sr. Butler came from Waterbury with Brn. Chamberlain and Churchill; Brn. Hart and Bailey came from Northfield; and those in the place, with Bro. Lockwood’s family, composed our meeting. Bro. Butler finally yielded to the truth.” RCASDA 101.4

We personally remember this time as though it were but yesterday, although it was in 1850. Mother had been keeping the Sabbath about a year. Father was much opposed to it, though a strong believer in the great Advent movement of the past. The light on the Sanctuary subject brought him to accept the seventh-day Sabbath. We notice this meeting because the name of Bro. Churchill is mentioned. His was one of the very first cases of conversion from the world to the present truth, which occurred after 1844. As we have said, their work hitherto had been almost wholly for the “lost sheep of the house of Israel”—the old Advent believers. They saw that unbelievers showed no interest in the truths which were so precious to them, and therefore their attention was directed to those who loved the Advent faith, and they labored ardently for them. This evidently, was in the order of God. Heman Churchill. of Stowe, Vt., the one here mentioned, had not been engaged in the Advent movement of 1844. He had married, after this, a daughter of Sr. Benson, a ‘44 Adventist. I remember him well as he came to Waterbury, Vt., and attended meeting in my father’s house, where a few met from time to time. They were quite surprised at first that one who had been an unbeliever should manifest an interest in the Advent doctrine. He was not repulsed, but welcomed. He was earnest and zealous; and as they discerned in him sincerity, they accepted him as a true convert. I cannot remember the exact date when he commenced to seek God, though I recollect clearly his attending meetings at Waterbury, Vt. But we know from this letter of Eld. Bates’s, that it was previous to this meeting held in the fall of 1850; for he was then at the meeting referred to in Waitsfield, Vt., as a believer. Bro. Bates calls him “Brother.” His conversion was noised abroad quite extensively. Now, if our opponents were correct in their statements that the believers held to a shut door which entirely excluded all except old Adventists, how could Heman Churchill have been received as a true convert? This is positive evidence that their assertions are untrue. There is not an instance which can be found in the early history of this cause where any one manifesting sincerity in seeking God was ever repulsed. They were most glad of any evidence that such desired the blessing of God! RCASDA 101.5

In a letter recently received from Bro. Ira Abbey, of north Brookfield, N.Y., whose name is signed to the statement at the close of this article, I take the liberty of making the following extract:— RCASDA 102.1

After the time passed I was a strong shut door believer. But when the Third Angel’s Message was preached, I with my wife embraced it. Between 1846 and 1850 Bro. and Sr. White came to our house, and were very zealous for the children and those that had not rejected the truth. They labored for unconverted souls, and never do I remember of hearing Sr. White say that there were no hopes of the unconverted: but there were hopes of the backsliders and those that had not rejected the truth. RCASDA 102.2

This is an extract form a private letter, and was not written for publication; but the testimony is so clear we venture to insert it. RCASDA 103.1

We next present and extract from a statement written by Marion C. Truesdail, and signed by herself and five others:— RCASDA 103.2

During Miss Harmon’s (now Mrs. White) visit to Paris, Me., in the summer of 1845, I stated to her the particulars of a dear friend of mine whose father had prevented her attending meetings; consequently she had not rejected light. She smilingly replied, “God never has shown me that there is no salvation for such persons. It is only those who have had the light of truth presented to them and knowingly rejected it.” Miss Harmon’s reply coincided with my idea of a shut door, and in justice no other could be derived form it. RCASDA 103.3

The fact here presented is certainly a decisive one as to the nature of the shut door in which they believed, even as early as 1845. RCASDA 103.4

We now present a very explicit and comprehensive statement covering this whole shut door experiences, of believers in the Third Angel’s Message previous to the year 1851. There are a goodly number of living witnesses who embraced the truth at that early date, who know whether these statements are true or not. Why should not their testimony be considered in this connection? We have obtained the signatures of quite a number, all of whom embraced the truth as early as 1850, and all were in the ‘44 movement:— RCASDA 103.5

We, the undersigned, having been well acquainted with the Advent movement in 1844 at the passing of the time, and having also embraced the truths of the Third Angel’s Message as early as 1850, hereby cheerfully subscribe our names to the following statement concerning the shut door doctrine held by believers in the Third angel’s Message from the time of its rise to the last-mentioned date, and onward. RCASDA 103.6

They believed, in harmony with Revelation 3:7, 8, and other scriptures, that at the close of the 2300 days of Daniel 8:14 Christ closed his work in the first apartment of the heavenly Sanctuary, and changed his ministration to the most holy, and entered upon the work of the Judgment, changing his relation in this respect to the plan of salvation. Here was a door opened and a door shut. RCASDA 103.7

They believed that those who had the clear light upon the First Angel’s Message and turned against it, bitterly opposing it, were rejected of God. But they did not believe that those who had not had the light or those who had not come to years of accountability previous to 1844, if they should seek God with honest hearts, would be rejected. RCASDA 103.8

While they believed with William Miller and the great mass of RCASDA 103.9

Adventists immediately after the passing of the time, that their work for the world was done, and that the Lord would come very soon, yet after the light upon the Sanctuary and the third message explained their disappointment, they did not believe that mercy was past save for those who had rejected the light. RCASDA 103.10

J.B. Sweet, South Saginaw, Mich.
Samuel Martin, West Rindge, N.H.
Ira Abbey, North Brookfield, N.Y.
Mrs. R.B. Abbey, North Brookfield, N.Y.
Mrs. Diana Abbey, North Brookfield, N.Y.
Mrs. L.B. Abbey, North Brookfield, N.Y.
Heman S. Gurney, Memphis, Mich.
Ann E. Gurney, Memphis, Mich.
Wm. Gifford, Memphis, Mich.
Mrs. Mary S. Chase, Battle Creek, Mich.
Mrs. S.M. Howland, Battle Creek, Mich.
Mrs. F.H. Lunt, Battle Creek, Mich.
Mrs. Melora A. Ashley, Battle Creek, Mich.
Mrs. Caroline A. Dodge, Battle Creek, Mich.
Mrs. Sarah B. Whipple, Battle Creek, Mich.
Mrs. Uriah Smith, Battle Creek, Mich.
Mrs. Paulina R. Heligass, Moline, Kan.
R.G. Lockwood. St. Helena, Cal.
Mrs. R.G. Lockwood St. Helena, Cal.
Reuben Loveland, North Hyde Park, Vt.
Mrs. Belinda Loveland, North Hyde Park, Vt. RCASDA 103.11

Here is an argument which it will be hard to answer,-more than a score of living witnesses testifying clearly and emphatically to what they know concerning the shut door doctrine. On the other hand, our opponents who raise such a hue and cry about the shut door had no practical knowledge of the matter. They were not in the movement themselves, and they have obtained at second hand what knowledge they have concerning it, while the witnesses we have quoted were actors in the message, and know whereof they affirm. We have demonstrated beyond all question that our opponents accuse the early believers falsely when they say they taught there was no salvation save for those who were Advent believers previous to 1844. RCASDA 104.1

These persons are every one living, and most of them reside at the same places here given. Eld. Canright knows most of them, and we venture the assertion that he will not impugn the testimony or truthfulness of one of them. Every one of them had the statement preceding their signatures, and carefully considered its contents. Are these statements not worthy of as much confidence as those of persons who never knew anything whatever of the circumstances personally? Let the reader judge. We know whereof we affirm. RCASDA 104.2

Mrs. White’s statement, quoted by Eld. C. at the head of this article, relates, as the connection shows, to characteristics of many modern revivals led by men who had rejected the light. There was not the travail of soul for sinners with them but a light, frivolous, frothy spirit, such as is often seen in modern revivals. Our time has been cursed with such. Such revivals have little of the deep searchings of heart seen among the early Methodists and Baptists. We pity the man who cannot see the difference. The men who led in such revivals had rejected the light, and God rejected them. The time of “their salvation” was “past.” This is what she has always said she meant in this statement. This is precisely in harmony with her actions in laboring for sinners, as we have seen, at the very time in which these opposers say she did not believe they could be saved. This is what these twenty-one unchallenged, truthful, living witnesses positively declare from their own knowledge was true. Shall we take Eld. Canright’s declarations about something he had no knowledge of whatever, in preference to theirs? Let those take it who prefer it. RCASDA 104.3

Let the reader further notice that Mrs. White’s language quoted above does not necessarily include all revivals by any means. “The reformations that were shown me.” she says. This is far from saying that all reformations would be of this character. The fair interpretation of her words would simply imply that she was shown a peculiar phase of things in the religious world characteristic of the last days, the superficial nature of many so-called revivals of religion. They are indeed a wonderful evidence of the nearness of the end. RCASDA 105.1

They are fast filling up the churches with unconverted people. All intelligent observers notice this as an astonishing thing. Mrs. White pointed this out in 1849. We now see its fulfillment. G.I.B. RCASDA 105.2