logging in or signing up William Ellis Foy, The Unknown Prophet ou1896 Download Post to : URL : Related Presentations : Share Add to Flag Embed Email Send to Blogs and Networks Add to Channel Uploaded from authorPOINT lite Insert YouTube videos in PowerPont slides with aS Desktop Copy embed code: (To copy code, click on the text box) Embed: URL: Thumbnail: WordPress Embed Customize Embed The presentation is successfully added In Your Favorites. Views: 2568 Category: Education License: All Rights Reserved Like it (3) Dislike it (0) Added: January 26, 2010 This Presentation is Public Favorites: 0 Presentation Description W E Foy was a Black religious leader of the Advent Movement in 1842. He received genuine revelations from God, faithfully shared what he had seen and wrote a pamphlet in 1845 called "The Christian Experience of William Ellis Foy". He met Ellen White who was a SDA leader and also supported her experience. He later pastored until hi death in 1893. Delbert W Baker has written a book on William Foy called "The Unknown Prophet" published by the Review and Herald Publishing Association in 1987. Comments Posting comment... By: nef777 (7 month(s) ago) my email is nefdrodriguez@gmail.com. thanks again Saving..... Post Reply Close Saving..... Edit Comment Close By: nef777 (7 month(s) ago) hello i am a fellow believer of the Adventist faith. i very much liked your presentation and would like to have a copy of it for reference and for further the research of William Foy . Please consider for me to have a copy for it will be a great blessing for me. Thank you and God bless Saving..... Post Reply Close Saving..... Edit Comment Close Premium member Presentation Transcript Slide 1: by Delbert W. Baker, Ph.D. Oakwood College Unknown Prophet The Slide 2: Who was Where did he come from? What was the nature of the society in which he lived? What was he shown in vision? What impact did his race have on his ministry? What task did God set forth for him? What was his relationship to Ellen G. White? And whatever became of him? William E. Foy? This is the untold story... Two Important Facts About History . . . : Two Important Facts About History . . . Providence 2. People Slide 4: PROVIDENCE The Four Pillars 2. Divine care and personal direction of heaven. 3. Management of resources and events to accomplish desired end. 4. Direction of the affairs of Black people in the SDA Church. 1. Guidance of God over nature, people, history. Slide 5: Ellen White Initiator 1827-1915 James Edson White Implementer 1849-1928 Charles Kinney Father 1855-1951 Slide 6: Three Noted Recipients of the Prophetic Gift . . . Slide 7: Context Again and again I have been shown that the past experiences of God’s people are not to be counted as dead facts. We are not to treat the record of these experiences as we would treat last year’s almanac. The record is to be kept in mind; for history will repeat itself. The darkness of the mysteries of the night is to be illuminated with the light of heaven.” E. G. White to A. G. Daniells November 1, 1903 S E C T I O N O N E A Feel for the Times : A Feel for the Times Progress Reform movements Territorial expansion Population increase Urbanization Technological breakthroughs Insecurity Progress brought insecurity, which precipitated a religious revival. Line drawing of Boston skyline during Foy’s time. Revivalism : Revivalism Diverse religious groups Return to Bible-oriented primitive Christianity Missionary movements The spirit of revivalism in the 1800s affected a wide group of people--regardless of race and culture. Social Reform : Social Reform Religious reforms led to social reforms Temperance Education Status of women Health Democracy Communication A rare photograph of a New England camp meeting in the middle 1800s with Blacks shown sprinkled throughout the audience. Slavery, Abolition, and Revolts : Slavery, Abolition, and Revolts When Foy was . . . . . . Four, the Denmark Vesey’s South Carolina revolt occurred. . . . Ten, William Lloyd Garrison started the antislavery movement. . . . Eleven, David Walker published his famous Appeal against slavery. . . . Thirteen, Garrison published the abolitionist paper the Liberator. Image of slaves working on a southern plantation. Family Ties : Family Ties William Foy was born in Kennebec County near Augusta, Maine, to Joseph and Elizabeth (Betsy) Foy. The Foys were a free Black family with William being the eldest of three brothers and one sister. A typical rural scene from the New England countryside. Community : Community Foy grew up in a community of Black professionals, landowners, farmers, and skilled laborers. Although there is no known photograph of Foy, he was described to be a tall and striking man of light complexion. A typical rural scene from the New England countryside. Tale of a Freeman : Tale of a Freeman “Quasi-free” status Lived with the fear of kidnapping physical injury or death being placed back in slavery by courts Restrictive laws limited Travel Assembly Job opportunities/commerce One advantage: Education Placard issued by the Vigilance Committee of Boston showing the tenuous status of freedom. Tale of a Freeman : Tale of a Freeman “Neither fish now fowl, neither slave nor free, Negroes in the North existed on a precarious ledge. At any moment they could be shelved off. Seldom in any country have men lived in such a vale of anxiety. Time and time again, White herded Negroes into groups and pointed to the city boundaries. Time and time again, immigrants, fresh from the boats, cracked the skulls of Negroes and burned their homes and churches. Some men said openly that the only solution to the ‘Negro problem’ was the ‘Indian solution.’” Lerone Bennett Tale of a Freeman : Tale of a Freeman “Thus Negroes went through the terrible ordeal of moving toward freedom. It cannot be said even of the most fortunate that they were entirely free. They suffered indignities and insults, legal disabilities and economic privations, violent physical and verbal calumniations. Their reactions, even when sober and considered, were the reactions of frustrated, stricken people. The mistreatment of free Negroes was not sectional. At best the situation in the North was tolerable, but only in a relative sense: it was better than in the South. Small wonder there was so much despair.” John Hope Franklin Slide 17: Conversion As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God?” Psalm 42:1, 2 NKJV S E C T I O N T W O A Spiritual Father and Example : A Spiritual Father and Example In 1835, Foy converted to Christianity under Silas Curtis and was baptized into the Freewill Baptist Church. (45) In 1835-1836, Foy was called to the ministry shortly after his conversion and intensive Bible study. (54) Silas Curtis, a prominent minister in the Freewill Baptist Church, baptized Foy in 1835 when he was 17 years of age. This line engraving was made in the late 1800s. Foy Recounts His Conversion : Foy Recounts His Conversion “In the year 1835, under the preaching of Elder Silas Curtis, I was led to inquire what I should do to be saved. Christians directed me to the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sins of the world. I then began to pray earnestly to God to pardon my sins; but the more I prayed, the more I beheld the sinfulness of my heart; and for many days I feared there was no mercy for me; but was led to see that it would have been justice in God to have cut me off and sent me where hope or mercy could not have reached me. I then became willing to give up all; and in that moment Christ appeared the One altogether lovely, and the chiefest among ten thousands, and spake the life-giving word to my soul.” Foy Recounts His Conversion : Foy Recounts His Conversion “I then rejoiced in the God of my salvation; while all things around me appeared new, shining forth with the glory of God. Then could my heart unite in the song of the angels, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men’ (Luke 2:14). I then saw such a fullness in Christ that I wanted to proclaim it to all the world. O the glory of God that filled my soul! Three months rolled away in which I enjoyed sweet communion with my God. I was then thrown into a trial by those who should have been nursing fathers in Israel, and thus remained many days, struggling in prayer; but the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptation.” Foy Recounts His Conversion : Foy Recounts His Conversion “A father in Israel whom I visited at this time gave me instruction that proved a blessing to my soul. I then joined the Sabbath school, and was there instructed for the first time to read the Word of God, and soon became able to read my little Bible. Immediately the duty of baptism was impressed upon me; and after three months’ disobedience, I went before the church and related the dealings of God to my soul, and the day following was led down into the liquid stream by Brother S. Curtis, and was buried with my Saviour in baptism.” Foy Recounts His Conversion : Foy Recounts His Conversion “Then did I experience the fulfillment of the promise: ‘They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint’ (Isa. 40:31); and while [I was] coming up out of the water, it appeared to me the opening heavens around me shone; and I cried with a loud voice, saying: ‘Glory to God and the Lamb that sitteth upon the throne!’” (Foy, Christian Experience, pp. 7-9) Slide 23: Connections There was also interest at this time in starting a special drive to warn Armerican Blacks of the coming Advent….There was a very practical problem, however: most of America’s Blacks lives as slaves in the Southern states, and that abolitionist beliefs of the majority of Millerite lecturers made them personae non grata in the South.” Richard Schwarz Light Bearers to the Remnant, p. 45 S E C T I O N T H R E E Marriage and Family : Marriage and Family In 1836, Foy married Ann (d. c. 1850) his first wife. In 1837, they had their first child, Amelia. Boston, Massachusetts : Boston, Massachusetts In 1837, Foy and his family moved to Boston, Massachusetts. Foy attended seminary to prepare for ministry. Line drawing of Boston skyline during Foy’s time. Boston Directory : Boston Directory Map of Boston : Map of Boston Home on Grove Street : Home on Grove Street They lived at: #16 Grove St. Beacon Hill area (Nigger Hill), NE Boston. On October 14, 1840, the First General Conference of Advent believers was held at Chardon Street Chapel, only a few blocks from where Foy lived. Grove Street was where Foy lived during the period he received visions. Located on Beacon Hill, its crowded citizenry contained both Black and White residents. Antislavery Churches : Antislavery Churches In 1838, Foy became active in antislavery churches. Pictured on the right is the African Meeting House, which was built by free Blacks on Beacon Hill not far from where Foy lived on Grove Street. It was constructed to function as both a religious and an educational community center. The African Meeting House Antislavery Churches : Antislavery Churches Notable pastors who Foy knew were: George Black, pastor of the Twelfth Baptist Church on Southack Street (the site where Foy received his first vision). Samuel Snowden, pastor of the AME Church on May Street on Beacon Hill, the site of Foy’s second vision. David Walker, the famous abolitionist, was a member of Snowden’s church and was his personal friend. Preaching Ministry : Preaching Ministry In 1841, Foy became a preacher in the Baptist Church. He was described by Seventh-day Adventist Church historian, John Loughborough, as a powerful and effective soul-winning preacher who often wore a robe when he spoke. Advent Movement : Advent Movement In 1842, Foy joined the Advent movement Foy and several other prominent Blacks were Millerites, namely: Charles Bowles (Father Bowles): preacher, evangelist, church planter, a fearless Millerite preacher up to the time of his death in March 1843. John Lewis: Millerite preacher, writer of biography on Charles Bowles. William Still: freed slave from Maryland farm, preacher, abolitionist, and writer of the Underground Railroad, converted by the preaching of William Miller. Sojourner Truth (Isabella [Baumfree] Van Wagener): abolitionist, temperance reformed, suffragett, visited and spoke at Millerite campmeetings in 1843. Foy’s Contemporaries : Foy’s Contemporaries William Miller 1782-1849 Joseph Bates 1792-1872 Hiram Edson 1806-1882 Sojourner Truth 1797-1883 James White 1821-1881 Ellen White 1827-1915 Slide 34: Commission With a lovely voice, the guide then spoke to me and said, ‘Those that eat of the fruit of this tree return to earth no more.’ I raised my hand to partake of the heavenly fruit, that I might no more return to earth; but alas! I immediately found myself again in this lonely vale of tears.” William E. Foy Christian Experience, p. 15 S E C T I O N F O U R Slide 35: THE SEVEN PILLARS OF USE-ABILITY DIVINE HUMAN CONNECTION SPIRITUAL LEARN/TEACH… PS-VISION CHANGE AGENT PASSION COURAGE FAITHFULNESS First Vision: VICTORY-A January 18, 1842 : First Vision: VICTORY-A January 18, 1842 Place of reception: Southark Street, Boston, while meeting with the Twelfth Street Baptist Church, George Black, Pastor. Focus: The vision was about glory and reward to come. It also warned the early Advent believers to be faithful regardless of circumstances. It showed the early Advent movement traveling to the new earth. First Vision: VICTORY-B January 18, 1842 : First Vision: VICTORY-B January 18, 1842 Period vision covered: From Foy’s day to the Second Coming. Implied commission: He felt the burden to tell but was not specifically told to do so. “The duty to declare the things which had been shown to me, to my fellow creatures, and warn them to flee from the wrath to come, rested with great weight upon my soul.” Foy found the task to be extremely difficult in light of race prejudice and the issues confronting Black people of his day. “But I was disobedient, settling upon this point for an excuse, that my guide did not command me to do so. . . .” Second Vision: JUDGMENT-A February 4, 1842 : Second Vision: JUDGMENT-A February 4, 1842 Place of reception: “With the people of God on May St.” This vision took place 2 1/2 weeks after the first vision. The vision was 12 1/2 hours long--From Friday night to Saturday morning. Focus: Judgment and the requirements of the kingdom. Period vision covered: Same time period: Difference from the first vision is emphasis not time. Second Vision: JUDGMENT-B February 4, 1842 : Second Vision: JUDGMENT-B February 4, 1842 Commission: “But the Lord in His mercy spared me to behold the evening of the fourth of February 1842, when I met with the people of God in May Street.” “My guide now informed me what I must do. Thy spirit must return to yonder world, and thou must reveal those things which thou has seen. Warn thy fellow creatures to flee from the wrath to come. ‘How can I return to yonder world?’ ‘I will go with thee, and support and help thee, to declare these things unto the world.’” Second Vision: JUDGMENT-C February 4, 1842 : Second Vision: JUDGMENT-C February 4, 1842 Foy resigned that he would share what he had seen but battled with the difficult issues of race, theology, and the stigma attached to Blacks because of slavery. “The message was so different--and the manner in which the command was given, so different from any I had ever heard of, and knowing the prejudice among the people against those of my color, it became very crossing.” Prejudice Against Millerites : Prejudice Against Millerites Around 1844, the derision against Miller and the Advent believers increased. This poster against Millerites, published in the 1840s, conspicuously shows Blacks connected with the movement. Request : Request On Sunday, February 6, 1842, Pastor J. B. Husted and a delegation from the Bromfield Second Methodist Episcopal church (a White congregation) visited Foy. Husted requested that Foy relate to them the vision. Foy agreed to do so the following Monday. Obeys Commission : Obeys Commission On Monday, February 7, 1842, Foy related to the Bromfield congregation of more than a thousand Black and White people who attended, what he had seen in his first two visions. He joyfully related that he was sustained in the meeting by the promise of his guide. Travels around New England : Travels around New England March-May: Foy traveled by invitation throughout the eastern states and shared the things that God had shown him in vision. June-August: Foy temporarily stopped travelling and speaking to earn money for the support of his family. September: In response to the prompting of the Holy Spirit, Foy began to travel and speak again relating to others what he had seen. His response to the prompting to speak was, “I will go.” Ellen Harmon Hears Foy : Ellen Harmon Hears Foy In 1842, Ellen Gould Harmon (White), a teenager, and her father, Robert Harmon, heard Foy speak at Portland, Maine, during his several trips to that area. Ellen G. White Robert Harmon Spiritual Help : Spiritual Help Several years later Foy testified that his guide had kept his promise that he would be with him as he shared the things shown to him. “His supporting presence has been with me.” Third Vision: PROVIDENCE 1843 : Third Vision: PROVIDENCE 1843 John Loughborough relates that Foy’s third vision focused on three platforms. He relates that the visions provided a broad stretch of items of relevance to Advent believers from the general to the specific. Loughborough gives little detail concerning this vision. Foy’s visions indicate that the messages were progressive and built on the previous scenes revealed. Fourth Vision: UNKNOWN 1843-1844 : Fourth Vision: UNKNOWN 1843-1844 In a 1912 interview concerning Foy, Ellen White referred to Foy’s “four visions.” There is no record of the content of this vision. There is no record of Foy receiving further visions after this time. Accordingly, Foy had a limited pre-disappointment prophetic ministry prior to the Great Disappointment in contrast to Ellen White’s extensive prophetic ministry of more than 70 years. Slide 49: Conclusion I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.” 2 Timothy 4:7, 8 S E C T I O N F I V E Hazen Foss : Hazen Foss Foss, a Millerite preacher whose brother married Ellen’s Sister, Mary, firmly believed that the second advent of Christ would take place on October 22, 1844. He was the next in line to receive visions and received his first vision in September or early October 1844. Hazen Foss Foss’ Vision : Foss’ Vision The vision depicts the travel of the Advent people and Foss was clearly instructed to deliver what the message said to others. Unlike Foy, he declined to relate what he was shown. Hazen Foss Disappointed : Disappointed The Great Disappointment, October 22, 1844, left Foss with the feeling that he had been deceived. Subsequently, he did not share what he had seen. In a second vision, he was warned that if he refused to relate the vision to others, that the burden would be taken from him and placed on one of the weakest of the Lord’s children. Hazen Foss Refuses to Obey : Refuses to Obey Again he had a severe conflict, and then decided he would not relate the visions. People came to hear him relate his visions, but he told them he was greatly disappointed and had been deceived. He refused to tell them what he had seen and “refused to obey the prompting of the Spirit of God.” Hazen Foss Grieves the Spirit : Grieves the Spirit Then one day, very strange feelings came to him, and he heard a voice saying, “You have grieved away the Spirit of the Lord.” According to Ellen Whites account (Letter 37, 1890), when he heard the voice, he was horrified at his stubbornness and rebellion and told the Lord he would related the vision. Hazen Foss Final Attempt : Final Attempt He tried to tell a hastily gather together group and he could remember nothing of the vision. After several attempts, he cried out in despair, “It is gone from me; I can say nothing, the Spirit of the Lord has left me.” The meeting was described by those who attended as “the most terrible meeting they were ever in.” Foss never showed any more interest in religious subjects. Hazen Foss The Baton Is Passed : The Baton Is Passed In December, 1844, Following Foss’ experience, Ellen White received her first vision. Thus began Ellen White’s lengthy (70yr) ministry to the SDA Church. Obeys Commission : Obeys Commission In February, 1845, Ellen White related her first vision at a meeting in Poland, Maine. Foss listened outside and later encouraged Ellen White, but that “God has taken the visions from me” and that “I am a lost man.” Slide 58: In regard to this school here at Huntsville, I wish to say that for the past two or three years I have been receiving instruction regarding it--what it should be and what those who come here as students are to become. All that is done by those connected with this school, whether they be white or black, is to be done with the realization that this is the Lord's institution…This is the Lord's land, and it is to bear fruit to his glory. Those who attend this school are to be taught in right lines, on the farm or in the school-room. They are to be taught how to live in close connection with God. Ellen G. White Ellen White at Oakwood College 1904, 1905, and 1908 Special workers meeting at Oakwood, 1904 Ellen White and Foy : Ellen White and Foy Ellen White met and conversed with Foy in 1845. Later that evening, Foy heard her relate what she had seen. When Foy heard her relate her experience, he jumped for joy and exclaimed, “it is just what I’ve seen.” Ellen White later spoke of how Foy had a “genuine experience. . . .” As to what become of Foy, she said, “I do not know what became of him.” Ellen G. White Foy’sPamphlet : Foy’sPamphlet In 1845, Foy published his pamphlet, The Christian Experience of William E. Foy, J. & C. Pearson, Publishers). The purpose of the pamphlet was “for the comfort of the saints... who are waiting for the coming of my Lord....” Photoprint of the only known original of the pamphlet Foy wrote in 1845. It was published by the Pearson brothers, Advent believers who lived in Portland, Maine. Foy’s Final Years1840s-1860s : Foy’s Final Years1840s-1860s Following his one meeting with Ellen White, there is no record of Foy ever meeting her again. Foy went on to have several pastorates throughout Maine and Massachusetts. He became known as a devout preacher, pastor, and Christian. Tunk Pond not far from where the Foys lived is shown with Schoodic Mountain in the background. Foy’s Final Years 1870s : Foy’s Final Years 1870s Foy finally settled in South Maine, East Sullivan, Hancock County. He pastored and lived there until the time of his death. He was loved, respected, and referred to as “Elder Foy.” He later helped to build a house for a poor neighbor and helped to construct a church in the area. He is listed in the local historical records. An old cabin now stands on the spot where the Foy house was once located. To the back of the old cabin is the well that the Foys dug when they first built on the spot. Foy Dies, November 9, 1893 : Foy Dies, November 9, 1893 Foy died at the age of 75. He was buried in the Birch Tree Cemetery. Frontal view of the Birch Tree Cemetery. The Foy marker is in the rear to the far right. Epitaph : Epitaph Foy’s epitaph reads: (2 Timothy 4:7) “I have fought a good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith: henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of life.” Slide 66: Three Noted Recipients of the Prophetic Gift . . . Slide 67: The End Oakwood College7000 Adventist Blvd., N.W.Huntsville, Alabama 35896(256) 726-7334www.oakwood.edu : Oakwood College7000 Adventist Blvd., N.W.Huntsville, Alabama 35896(256) 726-7334www.oakwood.edu Slide 71: C.M. Kinny You do not have the permission to view this presentation. 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William Ellis Foy, The Unknown Prophet ou1896 Download Post to : URL : Related Presentations : Share Add to Flag Embed Email Send to Blogs and Networks Add to Channel Uploaded from authorPOINT lite Insert YouTube videos in PowerPont slides with aS Desktop Copy embed code: (To copy code, click on the text box) Embed: URL: Thumbnail: WordPress Embed Customize Embed The presentation is successfully added In Your Favorites. Views: 2568 Category: Education License: All Rights Reserved Like it (3) Dislike it (0) Added: January 26, 2010 This Presentation is Public Favorites: 0 Presentation Description W E Foy was a Black religious leader of the Advent Movement in 1842. He received genuine revelations from God, faithfully shared what he had seen and wrote a pamphlet in 1845 called "The Christian Experience of William Ellis Foy". He met Ellen White who was a SDA leader and also supported her experience. He later pastored until hi death in 1893. Delbert W Baker has written a book on William Foy called "The Unknown Prophet" published by the Review and Herald Publishing Association in 1987. Comments Posting comment... By: nef777 (7 month(s) ago) my email is nefdrodriguez@gmail.com. thanks again Saving..... Post Reply Close Saving..... Edit Comment Close By: nef777 (7 month(s) ago) hello i am a fellow believer of the Adventist faith. i very much liked your presentation and would like to have a copy of it for reference and for further the research of William Foy . Please consider for me to have a copy for it will be a great blessing for me. Thank you and God bless Saving..... Post Reply Close Saving..... Edit Comment Close Premium member Presentation Transcript Slide 1: by Delbert W. Baker, Ph.D. Oakwood College Unknown Prophet The Slide 2: Who was Where did he come from? What was the nature of the society in which he lived? What was he shown in vision? What impact did his race have on his ministry? What task did God set forth for him? What was his relationship to Ellen G. White? And whatever became of him? William E. Foy? This is the untold story... Two Important Facts About History . . . : Two Important Facts About History . . . Providence 2. People Slide 4: PROVIDENCE The Four Pillars 2. Divine care and personal direction of heaven. 3. Management of resources and events to accomplish desired end. 4. Direction of the affairs of Black people in the SDA Church. 1. Guidance of God over nature, people, history. Slide 5: Ellen White Initiator 1827-1915 James Edson White Implementer 1849-1928 Charles Kinney Father 1855-1951 Slide 6: Three Noted Recipients of the Prophetic Gift . . . Slide 7: Context Again and again I have been shown that the past experiences of God’s people are not to be counted as dead facts. We are not to treat the record of these experiences as we would treat last year’s almanac. The record is to be kept in mind; for history will repeat itself. The darkness of the mysteries of the night is to be illuminated with the light of heaven.” E. G. White to A. G. Daniells November 1, 1903 S E C T I O N O N E A Feel for the Times : A Feel for the Times Progress Reform movements Territorial expansion Population increase Urbanization Technological breakthroughs Insecurity Progress brought insecurity, which precipitated a religious revival. Line drawing of Boston skyline during Foy’s time. Revivalism : Revivalism Diverse religious groups Return to Bible-oriented primitive Christianity Missionary movements The spirit of revivalism in the 1800s affected a wide group of people--regardless of race and culture. Social Reform : Social Reform Religious reforms led to social reforms Temperance Education Status of women Health Democracy Communication A rare photograph of a New England camp meeting in the middle 1800s with Blacks shown sprinkled throughout the audience. Slavery, Abolition, and Revolts : Slavery, Abolition, and Revolts When Foy was . . . . . . Four, the Denmark Vesey’s South Carolina revolt occurred. . . . Ten, William Lloyd Garrison started the antislavery movement. . . . Eleven, David Walker published his famous Appeal against slavery. . . . Thirteen, Garrison published the abolitionist paper the Liberator. Image of slaves working on a southern plantation. Family Ties : Family Ties William Foy was born in Kennebec County near Augusta, Maine, to Joseph and Elizabeth (Betsy) Foy. The Foys were a free Black family with William being the eldest of three brothers and one sister. A typical rural scene from the New England countryside. Community : Community Foy grew up in a community of Black professionals, landowners, farmers, and skilled laborers. Although there is no known photograph of Foy, he was described to be a tall and striking man of light complexion. A typical rural scene from the New England countryside. Tale of a Freeman : Tale of a Freeman “Quasi-free” status Lived with the fear of kidnapping physical injury or death being placed back in slavery by courts Restrictive laws limited Travel Assembly Job opportunities/commerce One advantage: Education Placard issued by the Vigilance Committee of Boston showing the tenuous status of freedom. Tale of a Freeman : Tale of a Freeman “Neither fish now fowl, neither slave nor free, Negroes in the North existed on a precarious ledge. At any moment they could be shelved off. Seldom in any country have men lived in such a vale of anxiety. Time and time again, White herded Negroes into groups and pointed to the city boundaries. Time and time again, immigrants, fresh from the boats, cracked the skulls of Negroes and burned their homes and churches. Some men said openly that the only solution to the ‘Negro problem’ was the ‘Indian solution.’” Lerone Bennett Tale of a Freeman : Tale of a Freeman “Thus Negroes went through the terrible ordeal of moving toward freedom. It cannot be said even of the most fortunate that they were entirely free. They suffered indignities and insults, legal disabilities and economic privations, violent physical and verbal calumniations. Their reactions, even when sober and considered, were the reactions of frustrated, stricken people. The mistreatment of free Negroes was not sectional. At best the situation in the North was tolerable, but only in a relative sense: it was better than in the South. Small wonder there was so much despair.” John Hope Franklin Slide 17: Conversion As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God?” Psalm 42:1, 2 NKJV S E C T I O N T W O A Spiritual Father and Example : A Spiritual Father and Example In 1835, Foy converted to Christianity under Silas Curtis and was baptized into the Freewill Baptist Church. (45) In 1835-1836, Foy was called to the ministry shortly after his conversion and intensive Bible study. (54) Silas Curtis, a prominent minister in the Freewill Baptist Church, baptized Foy in 1835 when he was 17 years of age. This line engraving was made in the late 1800s. Foy Recounts His Conversion : Foy Recounts His Conversion “In the year 1835, under the preaching of Elder Silas Curtis, I was led to inquire what I should do to be saved. Christians directed me to the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sins of the world. I then began to pray earnestly to God to pardon my sins; but the more I prayed, the more I beheld the sinfulness of my heart; and for many days I feared there was no mercy for me; but was led to see that it would have been justice in God to have cut me off and sent me where hope or mercy could not have reached me. I then became willing to give up all; and in that moment Christ appeared the One altogether lovely, and the chiefest among ten thousands, and spake the life-giving word to my soul.” Foy Recounts His Conversion : Foy Recounts His Conversion “I then rejoiced in the God of my salvation; while all things around me appeared new, shining forth with the glory of God. Then could my heart unite in the song of the angels, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men’ (Luke 2:14). I then saw such a fullness in Christ that I wanted to proclaim it to all the world. O the glory of God that filled my soul! Three months rolled away in which I enjoyed sweet communion with my God. I was then thrown into a trial by those who should have been nursing fathers in Israel, and thus remained many days, struggling in prayer; but the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptation.” Foy Recounts His Conversion : Foy Recounts His Conversion “A father in Israel whom I visited at this time gave me instruction that proved a blessing to my soul. I then joined the Sabbath school, and was there instructed for the first time to read the Word of God, and soon became able to read my little Bible. Immediately the duty of baptism was impressed upon me; and after three months’ disobedience, I went before the church and related the dealings of God to my soul, and the day following was led down into the liquid stream by Brother S. Curtis, and was buried with my Saviour in baptism.” Foy Recounts His Conversion : Foy Recounts His Conversion “Then did I experience the fulfillment of the promise: ‘They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint’ (Isa. 40:31); and while [I was] coming up out of the water, it appeared to me the opening heavens around me shone; and I cried with a loud voice, saying: ‘Glory to God and the Lamb that sitteth upon the throne!’” (Foy, Christian Experience, pp. 7-9) Slide 23: Connections There was also interest at this time in starting a special drive to warn Armerican Blacks of the coming Advent….There was a very practical problem, however: most of America’s Blacks lives as slaves in the Southern states, and that abolitionist beliefs of the majority of Millerite lecturers made them personae non grata in the South.” Richard Schwarz Light Bearers to the Remnant, p. 45 S E C T I O N T H R E E Marriage and Family : Marriage and Family In 1836, Foy married Ann (d. c. 1850) his first wife. In 1837, they had their first child, Amelia. Boston, Massachusetts : Boston, Massachusetts In 1837, Foy and his family moved to Boston, Massachusetts. Foy attended seminary to prepare for ministry. Line drawing of Boston skyline during Foy’s time. Boston Directory : Boston Directory Map of Boston : Map of Boston Home on Grove Street : Home on Grove Street They lived at: #16 Grove St. Beacon Hill area (Nigger Hill), NE Boston. On October 14, 1840, the First General Conference of Advent believers was held at Chardon Street Chapel, only a few blocks from where Foy lived. Grove Street was where Foy lived during the period he received visions. Located on Beacon Hill, its crowded citizenry contained both Black and White residents. Antislavery Churches : Antislavery Churches In 1838, Foy became active in antislavery churches. Pictured on the right is the African Meeting House, which was built by free Blacks on Beacon Hill not far from where Foy lived on Grove Street. It was constructed to function as both a religious and an educational community center. The African Meeting House Antislavery Churches : Antislavery Churches Notable pastors who Foy knew were: George Black, pastor of the Twelfth Baptist Church on Southack Street (the site where Foy received his first vision). Samuel Snowden, pastor of the AME Church on May Street on Beacon Hill, the site of Foy’s second vision. David Walker, the famous abolitionist, was a member of Snowden’s church and was his personal friend. Preaching Ministry : Preaching Ministry In 1841, Foy became a preacher in the Baptist Church. He was described by Seventh-day Adventist Church historian, John Loughborough, as a powerful and effective soul-winning preacher who often wore a robe when he spoke. Advent Movement : Advent Movement In 1842, Foy joined the Advent movement Foy and several other prominent Blacks were Millerites, namely: Charles Bowles (Father Bowles): preacher, evangelist, church planter, a fearless Millerite preacher up to the time of his death in March 1843. John Lewis: Millerite preacher, writer of biography on Charles Bowles. William Still: freed slave from Maryland farm, preacher, abolitionist, and writer of the Underground Railroad, converted by the preaching of William Miller. Sojourner Truth (Isabella [Baumfree] Van Wagener): abolitionist, temperance reformed, suffragett, visited and spoke at Millerite campmeetings in 1843. Foy’s Contemporaries : Foy’s Contemporaries William Miller 1782-1849 Joseph Bates 1792-1872 Hiram Edson 1806-1882 Sojourner Truth 1797-1883 James White 1821-1881 Ellen White 1827-1915 Slide 34: Commission With a lovely voice, the guide then spoke to me and said, ‘Those that eat of the fruit of this tree return to earth no more.’ I raised my hand to partake of the heavenly fruit, that I might no more return to earth; but alas! I immediately found myself again in this lonely vale of tears.” William E. Foy Christian Experience, p. 15 S E C T I O N F O U R Slide 35: THE SEVEN PILLARS OF USE-ABILITY DIVINE HUMAN CONNECTION SPIRITUAL LEARN/TEACH… PS-VISION CHANGE AGENT PASSION COURAGE FAITHFULNESS First Vision: VICTORY-A January 18, 1842 : First Vision: VICTORY-A January 18, 1842 Place of reception: Southark Street, Boston, while meeting with the Twelfth Street Baptist Church, George Black, Pastor. Focus: The vision was about glory and reward to come. It also warned the early Advent believers to be faithful regardless of circumstances. It showed the early Advent movement traveling to the new earth. First Vision: VICTORY-B January 18, 1842 : First Vision: VICTORY-B January 18, 1842 Period vision covered: From Foy’s day to the Second Coming. Implied commission: He felt the burden to tell but was not specifically told to do so. “The duty to declare the things which had been shown to me, to my fellow creatures, and warn them to flee from the wrath to come, rested with great weight upon my soul.” Foy found the task to be extremely difficult in light of race prejudice and the issues confronting Black people of his day. “But I was disobedient, settling upon this point for an excuse, that my guide did not command me to do so. . . .” Second Vision: JUDGMENT-A February 4, 1842 : Second Vision: JUDGMENT-A February 4, 1842 Place of reception: “With the people of God on May St.” This vision took place 2 1/2 weeks after the first vision. The vision was 12 1/2 hours long--From Friday night to Saturday morning. Focus: Judgment and the requirements of the kingdom. Period vision covered: Same time period: Difference from the first vision is emphasis not time. Second Vision: JUDGMENT-B February 4, 1842 : Second Vision: JUDGMENT-B February 4, 1842 Commission: “But the Lord in His mercy spared me to behold the evening of the fourth of February 1842, when I met with the people of God in May Street.” “My guide now informed me what I must do. Thy spirit must return to yonder world, and thou must reveal those things which thou has seen. Warn thy fellow creatures to flee from the wrath to come. ‘How can I return to yonder world?’ ‘I will go with thee, and support and help thee, to declare these things unto the world.’” Second Vision: JUDGMENT-C February 4, 1842 : Second Vision: JUDGMENT-C February 4, 1842 Foy resigned that he would share what he had seen but battled with the difficult issues of race, theology, and the stigma attached to Blacks because of slavery. “The message was so different--and the manner in which the command was given, so different from any I had ever heard of, and knowing the prejudice among the people against those of my color, it became very crossing.” Prejudice Against Millerites : Prejudice Against Millerites Around 1844, the derision against Miller and the Advent believers increased. This poster against Millerites, published in the 1840s, conspicuously shows Blacks connected with the movement. Request : Request On Sunday, February 6, 1842, Pastor J. B. Husted and a delegation from the Bromfield Second Methodist Episcopal church (a White congregation) visited Foy. Husted requested that Foy relate to them the vision. Foy agreed to do so the following Monday. Obeys Commission : Obeys Commission On Monday, February 7, 1842, Foy related to the Bromfield congregation of more than a thousand Black and White people who attended, what he had seen in his first two visions. He joyfully related that he was sustained in the meeting by the promise of his guide. Travels around New England : Travels around New England March-May: Foy traveled by invitation throughout the eastern states and shared the things that God had shown him in vision. June-August: Foy temporarily stopped travelling and speaking to earn money for the support of his family. September: In response to the prompting of the Holy Spirit, Foy began to travel and speak again relating to others what he had seen. His response to the prompting to speak was, “I will go.” Ellen Harmon Hears Foy : Ellen Harmon Hears Foy In 1842, Ellen Gould Harmon (White), a teenager, and her father, Robert Harmon, heard Foy speak at Portland, Maine, during his several trips to that area. Ellen G. White Robert Harmon Spiritual Help : Spiritual Help Several years later Foy testified that his guide had kept his promise that he would be with him as he shared the things shown to him. “His supporting presence has been with me.” Third Vision: PROVIDENCE 1843 : Third Vision: PROVIDENCE 1843 John Loughborough relates that Foy’s third vision focused on three platforms. He relates that the visions provided a broad stretch of items of relevance to Advent believers from the general to the specific. Loughborough gives little detail concerning this vision. Foy’s visions indicate that the messages were progressive and built on the previous scenes revealed. Fourth Vision: UNKNOWN 1843-1844 : Fourth Vision: UNKNOWN 1843-1844 In a 1912 interview concerning Foy, Ellen White referred to Foy’s “four visions.” There is no record of the content of this vision. There is no record of Foy receiving further visions after this time. Accordingly, Foy had a limited pre-disappointment prophetic ministry prior to the Great Disappointment in contrast to Ellen White’s extensive prophetic ministry of more than 70 years. Slide 49: Conclusion I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.” 2 Timothy 4:7, 8 S E C T I O N F I V E Hazen Foss : Hazen Foss Foss, a Millerite preacher whose brother married Ellen’s Sister, Mary, firmly believed that the second advent of Christ would take place on October 22, 1844. He was the next in line to receive visions and received his first vision in September or early October 1844. Hazen Foss Foss’ Vision : Foss’ Vision The vision depicts the travel of the Advent people and Foss was clearly instructed to deliver what the message said to others. Unlike Foy, he declined to relate what he was shown. Hazen Foss Disappointed : Disappointed The Great Disappointment, October 22, 1844, left Foss with the feeling that he had been deceived. Subsequently, he did not share what he had seen. In a second vision, he was warned that if he refused to relate the vision to others, that the burden would be taken from him and placed on one of the weakest of the Lord’s children. Hazen Foss Refuses to Obey : Refuses to Obey Again he had a severe conflict, and then decided he would not relate the visions. People came to hear him relate his visions, but he told them he was greatly disappointed and had been deceived. He refused to tell them what he had seen and “refused to obey the prompting of the Spirit of God.” Hazen Foss Grieves the Spirit : Grieves the Spirit Then one day, very strange feelings came to him, and he heard a voice saying, “You have grieved away the Spirit of the Lord.” According to Ellen Whites account (Letter 37, 1890), when he heard the voice, he was horrified at his stubbornness and rebellion and told the Lord he would related the vision. Hazen Foss Final Attempt : Final Attempt He tried to tell a hastily gather together group and he could remember nothing of the vision. After several attempts, he cried out in despair, “It is gone from me; I can say nothing, the Spirit of the Lord has left me.” The meeting was described by those who attended as “the most terrible meeting they were ever in.” Foss never showed any more interest in religious subjects. Hazen Foss The Baton Is Passed : The Baton Is Passed In December, 1844, Following Foss’ experience, Ellen White received her first vision. Thus began Ellen White’s lengthy (70yr) ministry to the SDA Church. Obeys Commission : Obeys Commission In February, 1845, Ellen White related her first vision at a meeting in Poland, Maine. Foss listened outside and later encouraged Ellen White, but that “God has taken the visions from me” and that “I am a lost man.” Slide 58: In regard to this school here at Huntsville, I wish to say that for the past two or three years I have been receiving instruction regarding it--what it should be and what those who come here as students are to become. All that is done by those connected with this school, whether they be white or black, is to be done with the realization that this is the Lord's institution…This is the Lord's land, and it is to bear fruit to his glory. Those who attend this school are to be taught in right lines, on the farm or in the school-room. They are to be taught how to live in close connection with God. Ellen G. White Ellen White at Oakwood College 1904, 1905, and 1908 Special workers meeting at Oakwood, 1904 Ellen White and Foy : Ellen White and Foy Ellen White met and conversed with Foy in 1845. Later that evening, Foy heard her relate what she had seen. When Foy heard her relate her experience, he jumped for joy and exclaimed, “it is just what I’ve seen.” Ellen White later spoke of how Foy had a “genuine experience. . . .” As to what become of Foy, she said, “I do not know what became of him.” Ellen G. White Foy’sPamphlet : Foy’sPamphlet In 1845, Foy published his pamphlet, The Christian Experience of William E. Foy, J. & C. Pearson, Publishers). The purpose of the pamphlet was “for the comfort of the saints... who are waiting for the coming of my Lord....” Photoprint of the only known original of the pamphlet Foy wrote in 1845. It was published by the Pearson brothers, Advent believers who lived in Portland, Maine. Foy’s Final Years1840s-1860s : Foy’s Final Years1840s-1860s Following his one meeting with Ellen White, there is no record of Foy ever meeting her again. Foy went on to have several pastorates throughout Maine and Massachusetts. He became known as a devout preacher, pastor, and Christian. Tunk Pond not far from where the Foys lived is shown with Schoodic Mountain in the background. Foy’s Final Years 1870s : Foy’s Final Years 1870s Foy finally settled in South Maine, East Sullivan, Hancock County. He pastored and lived there until the time of his death. He was loved, respected, and referred to as “Elder Foy.” He later helped to build a house for a poor neighbor and helped to construct a church in the area. He is listed in the local historical records. An old cabin now stands on the spot where the Foy house was once located. To the back of the old cabin is the well that the Foys dug when they first built on the spot. Foy Dies, November 9, 1893 : Foy Dies, November 9, 1893 Foy died at the age of 75. He was buried in the Birch Tree Cemetery. Frontal view of the Birch Tree Cemetery. The Foy marker is in the rear to the far right. Epitaph : Epitaph Foy’s epitaph reads: (2 Timothy 4:7) “I have fought a good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith: henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of life.” Slide 66: Three Noted Recipients of the Prophetic Gift . . . Slide 67: The End Oakwood College7000 Adventist Blvd., N.W.Huntsville, Alabama 35896(256) 726-7334www.oakwood.edu : Oakwood College7000 Adventist Blvd., N.W.Huntsville, Alabama 35896(256) 726-7334www.oakwood.edu Slide 71: C.M. Kinny