Life Sketches Manuscript

Fanciful Doctrines

Joe Turner, who had been a powerful speaker among the Adventists of Maine, had lost his bearings, and was a leader in the fanaticism. Among the fanciful doctrines, he taught that Christ had come; that the marriage referred to in the parable in Matthew twenty-five had taken place; that on the tenth day of the seventh month of 1844, the virgins went in with Christ to the marriage and the door was shut; that those who had gone in with Him were saved, and those who had not gone in with him were lost. LSMS 126.2

He also taught that the six thousand years of the earth's history were ended; that this period represented the period that men should work; and that we had entered the seventh thousandth year, which was the great Sabbath of rest. Therefore he taught that Adventists ought not to do any more work. LSMS 126.3

He and others went so far as to teach that if Adventists continued to engage in ordinary labor, they could not be saved in the kingdom of God. LSMS 127.1