In Defense of the Faith

In The Land of the Midnight Sun

But can the Sabbath be found and kept in the Land of the Midnight Sun, where it is six months day and six months night? We will permit Mr. Canright to reply to this objection. The following paragraphs were printed by him before he rejected the true Sabbath and while his vision was still clear: DOF 208.1

“It is claimed that at the north pole there are several weeks when the sun does not set at all; and again there are weeks when it is dark all the time. How can the seventh day be distinguished and kept there? ... DOF 208.2

“Frequently those who raise this objection are strict observers of Sunday, the first day of the week. If there is any force in this objection, it comes with equal weight against Sunday keeping. How can they keep the first day there? If they can find the first day, cannot we find the seventh? If they can keep Sunday, cannot we keep the Sabbath? But there is no trouble in. either case. The days of the week are plainly marked there as well as here. Read the travels of Dr. Kane, Hall, and others who have been there. Did they experience any difficulty in keeping the reckoning of the days? None whatever. The days are marked off by the revolutions of the earth, which are there, as well as here, indicated by the position of the sun. The most of the year, the sun rises and sets there the same as here; that is, as far north as men have ever penetrated. [Or, in other words, as far north as there are human inhabitants.] So far, there is no difficulty, of course. In midsummer, for a short time, the sun is above the horizon all the time. Being so far north, a person can see the sun in its entire circuit around the earth, day and night. But it is easy to tell when it is overhead at noon, when it is going down in the west, when it is directly underneath at midnight, or when it is rising in the east in the morning. Can we not tell the time of day here by the position of the sun in the heavens without seeing it rise and set? Certainly. Then if we could see it all the way around, could we not tell just as well as when we see it only part of the way around? Of course; and so those testify who have been in the arctic regions. DOF 208.3

“But how is it in the winter when it is night for weeks together? I believe there is no time that rays of light cannot be seen in the south at noon of each day. This would be sufficient to mark each day. But the revolution of the earth can be as plainly and as easily told by the position of the stars at night as it can by the sun at day. Any one accustomed to observing the stars knows this. They appear to rise and set and to go around the earth the same as the sun. Indeed, astronomers always reckon the day by the stars. Read the following letter which I received from an eminent astronomer touching this point: DOF 209.1

“‘Ogden, Utah, Sept. 24, 1873. DOF 209.2

“Elder D. M. Canright: By observations of the stars, the time can be found out at any time, day or night. Knowing the time at which any star ought to be in the meridian, we find the difference between noon and the observing time, or the local time. Stars being visible in the daytime and at night, on all places of the earth, it is possible to determine the time without seeing the sun. DOF 209.3

“(Signed,) ‘Dr. F. Kampf, DOF 209.4

“‘Astronomer of the U. 8. Corps of Engineers.’ DOF 209.5

“So, then, the exact time of day can be told by the stars, and they can be seen in the absence of the sun. Hence this objection is without foundation.... DOF 210.1

“Those who keep Sunday live in all parts of the earth, and have traveled all around it both ways. Do they find any difficulty in keeping the first day? Not in the least. This objection is all imaginary; for, practically, no one ever had any such trouble. Seventh-day Adventists and Seventh-day Baptists are scattered nearly around the globe; and yet they find no difficulty in keeping the seventh day Sabbath.... DOF 210.2

“The Lord commands His servants all around the world to keep the seventh day. Each one is to keep it when it comes where he is, not when it comes where some one else is. When it comes to those in Asia, they can keep it. Several hours later, it comes to England, and then they keep it, and so on around the world. DOF 210.3

“This is sufficient to show that there is no such difficulty as this objection supposes.”—The Morality of the Sabbath, pp. 80-87. DOF 210.4

“And now to trace you round this rolling world,
An eastern and a western route you’ve twirled,
And made out nothing by the spacious travel,
But what I call a wretched, foolish cavil.
And now to make you clearly understand
That Sabbath day may be in every land,
At least those parts where mortal men reside
(And nowhere else can precepts be applied),
There was a place where first the orb of light
Appeared to rise, and westward took its flight;
That moment, in that place the day began,
And as he in his circuit westward ran,
Or rather, as the earth did eastward spin,
To parts more westward daylight did begin.
And thus at different times, from place to place,
The day began-this clearly was the case.
And I should think a man must be a dunce
To think that day began all round at once,
So that in foreign lands it doth appear,
There was a first day there as well as here.
And if there was a first, the earth around,
As sure as fate the seventh can be found.
And thus you see it matters not a whit,
On which meridian of earth we sit,
Since each distinctly had its dawn of light,
And ever since, successive day and night;
Thus while our antipodes in darkness sleep,
We here the true, primeval Sabbath keep.” DOF 210.5

William Stillmax, quoted in The Review and Herald, February 3, 1852. DOF 211.1