Uriah Smith facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Uriah Smith |
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| Personal details | |
| Born | May 3, 1832 Wilton, New Hampshire |
| Died | March 6, 1903 (aged 70) Battle Creek, Michigan |
| Spouse | Harriet Newell Stevens Smith |
| Occupation | Author, Inventor and Editor of Review and Herald of the Seventh-day Adventist Church |
Uriah Smith (born May 3, 1832 – died March 6, 1903) was a very important person in the early Seventh-day Adventist Church. He was a writer, minister, teacher, and inventor. He is most famous for being the editor of the Review and Herald magazine (now called the Adventist Review). He worked there for over 50 years!
Uriah Smith was a very creative person. He wrote poems and hymns. He also invented things, like an artificial leg with a moving ankle. He even designed a school desk with a better folding seat.
In 1863, when the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists was formed, Uriah Smith was chosen as its first secretary. He held this job five more times! He also served as the church's treasurer for a year.
In 1874, he became a minister. That same year, he helped start Battle Creek College. He taught Bible classes and workshops for ministers. He also led the college board.
Uriah Smith wrote many books. He even carved some of the first pictures used in early Adventist publications. His most famous book is Thoughts on Daniel and the Revelation. This book became a key text about Adventist beliefs on end-time events.
He passed away in Battle Creek, Michigan, in 1903. He was 70 years old. He had a stroke on his way to the Review office. His older sister, Annie R. Smith, was also a poet and hymn writer for the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
Uriah Smith's Early Life
Uriah Smith was born in 1832 in a place called West Wilton, New Hampshire. His family believed in the Millerite message. In 1844, they experienced what is known as the Great Disappointment. This was a time when many people expected Jesus to return, but He did not.
That same year, Uriah had a serious infection. Because of this, his left leg had to be removed. After the Great Disappointment, Uriah lost interest in religion for a while. He went to school at Phillips Exeter Academy.
In December 1852, he decided to join the Sabbatarian Adventists. This group later became the Seventh-day Adventist Church in 1863. In 1853, he started working at the Advent Review and Sabbath Herald office. By 1855, he became its editor.
Uriah Smith wrote a lot about the Bible. His main work was a commentary on the prophetic books of Daniel and Revelation. He also wrote about other topics, like the idea of conditional immortality. He believed in religious freedom and was against slavery. He also taught that Adventists should not fight in wars.
Uriah Smith and Ellen White
Ellen G. White was a co-founder of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. She often spoke highly of Uriah Smith. She once wrote that she loved him almost as much as her own family. This was because he had worked for the church for so many years.
However, Ellen White also gave Uriah Smith warnings and advice. In 1869, she wrote about a difficult visit to his home. She felt there were problems in his family. She also told him that she could not trust him as much as before.
In 1883, Uriah Smith was part of a group of five people. Their job was to help improve the grammar in Ellen White's writings.
Later, in 1888, there was an important meeting called the General Conference session in Minneapolis. At this meeting, two ministers, Jones and Waggoner, shared a message about "Righteousness by Faith." Uriah Smith and the church president, Elder Butler, struggled to accept this message at first. Ellen White felt that their actions made her work much harder.
In 1891, Uriah Smith changed his mind. He apologized to Ellen White for the trouble he had caused. He promised not to repeat his past mistakes. Ellen White was very happy about this.
In 1899, Ellen White praised Uriah Smith's book, Thoughts on Daniel and the Revelation. She said it was very important, along with two of her own books. She believed his book had done a great work for the church.
Uriah Smith's Passing
Uriah Smith died in Battle Creek, Michigan, in 1903. He was 70 years old. He had a stroke while on his way to the Review office. He is buried in Oak Hill Cemetery in Battle Creek, Michigan.
See also
- Seventh-day Adventist Church
- Seventh-day Adventist theology
- Seventh-day Adventist eschatology
- 28 fundamental beliefs
- Questions on Doctrine
- History of the Seventh-day Adventist Church
- Millerites
- William Miller (preacher)
- Adventist
- Ellen G. White
- Teachings of Ellen White
- List of Ellen White writings
- Prophecy in the Seventh-day Adventist Church
- Second coming
- Premillennialism
- Remnant (Bible)
- Investigative judgment
- Three Angels' Messages
