Advent Pioneers Biographical Sketches and Pictures

JOSEPH BATES

Picture:

APOSTLE OF THE SABBATH TRUTH
July 8, 1792 — March 19, 1872 APBP 1.1

Fairhaven, Massachusetts, is a quiet little city across the Acushnet River from the old whaling town of New Bedford. To this New England community came the parents of Joseph Bates to settle on a little farm when Joseph was an infant. Here the future church pioneer spent his childhood. Here the love of the sea penetrated his blood. At the age of fifteen he “shipped” on a commercial vessel, and for the next twenty-one years lived the life of a sailor. His thrilling adventures at sea and the colorful story of his life are told in Virgil Robinson’s book Cabin Boy to Advent Crusader (Southern Publishing Association, 1960). APBP 1.2

Bates returned to civilian life in 1828 with a small fortune. He became involved in the abolitionist cause and was known as a man of courage and conviction. Bates was working to develop a property for an industrial school when he accepted William Miller’s views on the speedy advent of Christ. Within a year or so, the retired sea captain became a respected evangelist and spiritual leader among the Adventists. He presided at one of the early advent conferences. APBP 1.3

In early 1845, Bates was providentially led to an understanding of the truth concerning the seventh-day Sabbath. He visited Washington, New Hampshire, where a group of Adventists had begun to observe the seventh day. Fortified by this experience, he became the apostle of this new-found doctrine. In 1846 he published a 48-page tract on the subject. Captain Bates was present at the Sabbath Conferences of 1848 where important Bible teachings were unearthed from the gold mine of Scripture by the Sabbathkeeping Adventists. These new-found doctrines became the platform of the Seventh-day Adventist faith. APBP 1.4

The respected Captain was the oldest member of our church pioneers, and he became the first Seventh-day Adventist local conference president (Michigan, 1861). He lived to a ripe old age. One reason for his physical endurance, in spite of many sacrifices, was his simple diet and temperate habits. He organized one of the first temperance societies in the United States. Captain Bates was a spiritual man with clear-cut views and courageous as a lion. He did not hesitate to sacrifice when the need arose. Let us thank God for the venerable Captain — apostle of the Sabbath truth. APBP 1.5

A Story About Captain Joseph Bates

Whatever Captain Bates did, he did well. He was no half-hearted worker. When he served as a sea captain, he determined to be the most efficient “skipper” that “sailed the seven seas.” When he discarded tobacco and alcoholic beverages, he gave them up forever. He did not take one backward step. When he accepted the views of William Miller and began to preach the advent of Christ, he put all of his money and all of his heart into his preaching. When he saw the light on the Sabbath of the fourth commandment, he observed the next Sabbath. APBP 3.1

Joseph’s wife, Prudence, thought that he was impulsive and overly enthusiastic about things. She was always years behind her energetic husband, but eventually she caught up to him. This was true of her acceptance of the advent message and also the Sabbath truth. APBP 3.2

It wasn’t long after Joseph Bates was first exposed to the Sabbath truth (in an article by T. M. Preble in the “Hope of Israel,” March, 1845) that he heard about a little company of Sabbath-keepers up in the mountains of New Hampshire, in a little town called Washington. The leader was Frederick Wheeler. Joseph Bates felt a burning desire to see these people and to talk to them about the faith. So he bought a ticket on a train, and after he had gone as far as the train could take him, he bought a ticket on a stage, and after he had gone as far as the stage could take him, he went the rest of the way on foot. He arrived at Wheelers’ farmhouse late at night. The lights were out and the first Adventist minister to keep the true Sabbath was in bed. Bates didn’t hesitate to awaken him, and they talked most of the night. Wheeler’s eleven-year-old son, George, overheard the conversation and later divulged the story. The following day, George and the hired man went to the fields to work while Elder Wheeler took Captain Bates to Cyrus Farnsworth’s home on Millen Pond near the little church where the Sabbath-keeping Adventists met. And there, under the maple trees, Frederick Wheeler, Cyrus Farnsworth, his brother, William, and Joseph Bates sat down and talked about the Sabbath. APBP 3.3

After this meeting, really the first Seventh-day Adventist conference ever held, Bates returned to Fairhaven. His mind was convinced. His spirits were elated, and he was full of zeal to preach the truth. “O how I love this Sabbath,” he exclaimed. APBP 3.4

Back in Fairhaven, a friend of his and a fellow Adventist, James Madison Monroe Hall, met the old sea captain on the old bridge across the Acushnet River, and cried out, “Captain Bates, what is the news?” Brother Bates’ triumphant reply was, “The news is that the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord our God.” Hall was not easy to convince, but Captain Bates’ arguments were convincing, and Hall became a convert to the Sabbath doctrine (he kept the next Sabbath) and joined Bates in his new-found faith. Shortly after this, Bates wrote a tract on the subject which was instrumental in leading James and Ellen White to accept the light. APBP 3.5

And now you see why we call Captain Bates the apostle of the Sabbath truth. APBP 3.6