The Autobiography of Joseph Bates

by Joseph Bates, Gary Land

Prisoner of war, sea captain, moral reformer, and itinerant preacher, Joseph Bates led a varied and fascinating life and, as recognized by several scholars, achieved historical significance by co-founding the Seventh-day Adventist Church." So begins Gary Land in his Introduction to this reprint of the autobiography of Joseph Bates (1792-1872). The story first appeared as a series of fifty-one articles in The Youth's Instructor, a Seventh-day Adventist publication, between November 1858 and May 1863. In 1868 the articles were combined in a volume titled The Autobiography of Elder Joseph Bates; Embracing a Long Life on Shipboard, with Sketches of Voyages on the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, the Baltic and Mediterranean Seas; Also Impressment and Service on Board British War Ships, Long Confinement in Dartmoor Prison, Early Experience in Reformatory Movements; Travels in Various Parts of the World; and a Brief Account of the Great Advent Movement of 1840-44. The autobiography was again released in 1877 as The Early Life and Later Experience and Labors of Elder Joseph Bates, edited by James White, and in 1927 as Life of Joseph An Autobiography, abridged and edited by C. C. Crisler. This volume, part of the Adventist Classic Library, will "continue to attract readers in the twenty-first century, whether they simply want to vicariously relive the ages of sail, revival, and reform; are seeking to better understand nineteenth-century American society [e.g., the War of 1812, American maritime trade, and the Second Great Awakening]; or want to encounter directly the self-understanding of the 'real founder' of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

Genres: History, Biography

274 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2004

Reviews

[Abdullah Almuslem · Rating 3 out of 5]

A seaman, a soldier, a prisoner of war and a preacher. Jospeh Bates has certainly had an interesting life. He was born on 1792 in America and became sailor at a very young age. Throughout his travels at sea, he came to a conclusion that liquor, and other intoxicated drinks are the source of much misery to people. So, he gave up drinking, tobacco, tea, coffee, meat, swearing and became a man of faith. He described one of his voyages in which he was the captain of the vessel and the rules that he issued to his crew. No drinking, no swearing, reading is mandatory, a weekly magazine etc. His crew manners have been elevated by these rules and many of them described this voyage to be the best voyage they have experienced in their life.

Bates believed that Jesus would come back on 1844 in which he was disappointed. Still, he continues his faith and later established Seventh-day Adventist Church.

Overall, it was interesting to read about a guy who spent most of his life in the sea and then become a man of faith.

This was an O.K. read

[Nathan Jensen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting read, which will give new perspective and resolution to the discerning reader. Love the old style of writing, despite its initial reading challenge. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and I would give it a 4 out of 5 stars, because of the seemingly slow start to the book. The latter half of the book was absolutely fantastic. 5 stars for that part.

[Nathalie · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an incredible testimony!! It's amazing the lives our leaders had before finding God and how as we start to remove influences from our life we are able to hear His voice more clearly. Thankful for Joseph Bates' service!

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars. His experiences on the sea were fascinating - and made me angry at the injustices that happened to him. His writing style was excellent, however, sometimes he repeated stories, “As mentioned before *repeats whole story*”, and sometimes he got a bit too technical. Hence the docked star.

[Tim · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent life story of an American sea captain in the early 1800s who was captured and imprisoned on a ship by the British navy, later made his fortune, discovered the Millerite movement and the truth in the Bible, including the connection between Creation week and the seventh-day Sabbath, and ended up being one of the founders of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. It's an awesome adventure/conversion story.