We have already briefly introduced George Storrs as a Millerite (#9, “Tidings,” 8/96.) He was a friend of Dr. Thomas for awhile, especially from 1846 through 1848.
- He is relevant to the story of the Truth in America because he was the most widely-read, and perhaps the chief opponent, of the false doctrine of the immortality of the soul in the USA at the time of Dr. Thomas.
- He published a magazine called “The Bible Examiner,” in which he printed letters and lengthy articles which Dr. Thomas wrote on baptism and the Kingdom, in the time after his “confession and abjuration,” in March, 1847, and before his departure for England in May, 1848.
- Surprisingly, Storrs also featured quite strongly in the origin of the Jehovah’s Witnesses in the 1870s, late in his life.
- Storrs and Thomas had a parting of the ways in the 1850s.
The story of George Storrs’ life is worth presenting for the light it sheds on the work and beliefs of the main originator of our faith. His path intersected with that of Dr Thomas for many years.
George Storrs – prominent opponent of the false doctrine of the immortality of the soul
George Storrs was born in Albany, New York in 1796, and was therefore nine years older than Dr. Thomas. He was originally a Methodist minister and was a successful and popular preacher until around 1840. At that time, his strong abolitionist views forced him to withdraw from the Methodist community. His stand on slavery caused him much trouble, including several arrests and considerable harassment. For example, he was arrested in a church in New Hampshire, while in the act of prayer. His offense? Asking blessings on slaves! Later, the charges were dismissed, but he clearly differed from most of his community. It should be mentioned that Dr. Thomas shared Storrs’ views on many matters, but not on slavery.
In 1837, Storrs read a tract by Deacon Henry Grew, of Rhode Island and Philadelphia, about the real nature and destiny of man. After three years’ study, he reached the conclusion that man does not possess inherent immortality. By 1842, he had prepared a set of six sermons on the subject, subsequently published as “An Inquiry: are the Souls of the Wicked Immortal? In Six Sermons.” This was widely circulated, 200,000 copies being printed through 1880. I have a copy and it is an able exposition on the truth about immortality.
Storrs had become a fervid follower of William Miller in 1842 and left his small community in Albany, New York, to preach widely on the imminent return of the Lord. The Millerites had first expected Jesus to return in 1843, and then set another date of October 22, 1844. Many thousands quit their jobs, sold everything they had, and put all their focus on that day. Storrs wrote “Beyond a doubt, in my mind, the tenth day of the seventh month will witness the revelation of Jesus Christ in the clouds of heaven.” He suppressed his views on the mortality of the soul in this period, and finally left the Millerites after what has been called the “Great Disappointment” of October, 1844. He remained associated with the Adventists, and helped found the Advent Christian Church in 1854. He later split from them and formed the Life and Advent Union with John Tomline Walsh, another doctor/religionist/publisher whose life intersected with that of Dr. Thomas several times. Elmer Clark’s book, The Small Sects in America, notes that in 1848, John Tomline Walsh had founded this sect in Wilbraham, Massachusetts, near the preparatory school used by the New England Bible School for many summer sessions. Storrs in turn left that body in 1871, advocating the resurrection of those who died without a knowledge of Christ. The Life and Advent Union was a viable and separate group until it merged back into the parent Adventist body in 1964.
Storrs was also a pharmacist for a time. He had advertised one of his medicines in the Examiner as a “cure” for, among other ailments, the dreaded consumption (the illness of Ellen, wife of Dr. Thomas.) “Each bottle has the signature of Geo. F. Storrs, and the name, Dr. Drake’s Panacea, blown in the glass. Prepared only by STORRS & CO., Druggists, No. 21 N. Sixth Street, Philadelphia.”
Storrs died in 1879 at age 83. His long life was dominated by strong beliefs on slavery, prophecy, and the nature of man. But he did not die until after he had strongly influenced yet another denomination! Charles Taze Russell, who founded what is now known as the Jehovah’s Witnesses, acknowledged his indebtedness to Storrs. In 1906 Russell wrote, “The study of the Word of God with these dear brethren leads, step by step, into greener and brighter hopes of the world …” It is clear that his concept of the nature of man was gotten from Storrs, as was the practice of the annual celebration of the Lord’s Supper by the Jehovah’s Witnesses. Whether Russell’s attitude about voting and military service came from Dr Thomas through Storrs I cannot tell Certainly Storrs was not a pacifist, supporting the Civil War because of his attitude to slavery
Dr. Thomas and the Bible Examiner
The Bible Examiner was a religious periodical edited and published by Storrs, which appeared intermittently over the period 1843 to 1880, with a hiatus from 1863 to 1871 One masthead for its editorial section was “The soul that sinneth, it shall die” As Storrs, with his “Six Sermons,” was the best known opponent of the immortality of the soul, it is not surprising Dr Thomas became friends with him
John Tomline Walsh was, for a short time, assistant editor of the Bible Examiner He lived in Richmond for part of the time, where of course Dr Thomas also lived, off and on As Walsh was a proponent of Eclecticism, the branch of medicine expounded by the Scientific & Eclectic Medical Institute of which Dr Thomas was briefly president, some connection is almost certain
There is much to read in the Bible Examiner from the pen of Dr Thomas, only some of which I have seen, primarily because many works by Storrs, including the Bible Examiner, are missing from several major libraries What is available to me is intriguing, because two topics are dealt with at some length the status of the mortal population in the Kingdom, and the absolute necessity for adult baptism for entering the Kingdom of God
In September, 1847, the Bible Examiner published an article by Dr Thomas on “The Age to Come” In it he pointed out the co-existence of two classes in the future Kingdom those who “inherited the Kingdom,” and those who were “subjects of the Kingdom ” He was challenged by Isaac Bell, of Weed’s Port, New York he replied in a strongly worded letter published in February, 1848 Dr Thomas remarked, “This reminds me of a similar question I had put to one of Mr Miller’s friends at a big meeting in Aurora, Indiana in 1843″ This Is the earliest contact I know of between Dr Thomas and the Millentes Robert Roberts in his biography reported that first contact was by Dr Thomas reading Millente literature while in Louisville, Kentucky, but that must have been later Dr Thomas closed the letter to Bell “I subscribe myself affectionately, your fellow servant in hope of ruling the subject nations with a strong scepter, decorated with a crown of life and a robe of righteousness, with honor, immortality, and an eternal weight of glory in the Future Age”
A Bible Examiner article written by Dr Thomas in December, 1847 also drew strong fire, this time from Henry Grew, who as mentioned above was the same person who had convinced Storrs of the true nature of man Henry Grew criticized Dr Thomas for the statement, “Believing in the immortality of the soul is a damnable heresy” Dr Thomas defended his position ably, emphasizing
- Only those who have a true belief in both Jesus Christ and the things concerning the Kingdom can be saved a belief in the immortal soul is incompatible with such a faith
- Baptism, following a true understanding, is absolutely essential for entrance into the Kingdom
- No man can be saved without faith in the Kingdom. (This was precisely the reason Dr. Thomas had been re-baptized a year earlier, so it is not surprising he would strongly emphasize this fact. )
The controversy was actually carried on past Dr. Thomas’ first visit to England. The last letter from his pen to appear in the Bible Examiner is dated May 15, 1848, as written from Richmond, which must have only been a day or two before he left for New York on his way to England. Dr. Thomas’ long-time friend Allan Magruder picked up where Dr. Thomas left off, and the discussion continued into 1849.
It is also of interest that names of many of the supporters of Dr. Thomas appear in the pages of the Bible Examiner. Apart from Allan Magruder, the lawyerly friend of Dr. Thomas who will be the subject of a separate article, we find the following:
- Richard Malone who sent funds to support the periodical. Dr. Thomas was residing in his house at the time.
- William and Richard Lemmon, brothers who were later to found the ecclesia in Baltimore. They wrote with support and donations for the Bible Examiner; these men also provided funding and lodging to Dr. Thomas.
- Albert Anderson, who wrote various encouraging letters to Storrs. He was Dr. Thomas’ first convert, and the first person he baptized. Anderson had been one of the most prominent Campbellites in Virginia.
- James Donaldson, who had written George Storrs for the books by a like-minded preacher. He is of local interest to the Detroit Ecclesia because he founded it, and also published Dr. Thomas’ work Anastasis there in 1866.
- Henry Heyes, who wrote a letter to the Bible Examiner basically supporting Dr. Thomas. He introduced Dr. Thomas to Joseph Marsh, of Rochester, New York, who printed letters from Dr. Thomas in his periodicals, and was later to become a founder of the Church of God (Abrahamic Faith). And I believe Heyes also wrote hymn 16 in our present book; “Hallelujah! Yahweh’s Name.”
Dr. Thomas and George Storrs
Apart from their communication through the pages of the Bible Examiner, Dr. Thomas and Storrs interacted in various ways from the mid 1840’s to at least 1861. At first theirs was a cordial relationship. Whenever Dr. Thomas was in Philadelphia, where Storrs then lived, he would go and see him. For example, on September 14, 1846, he called on “his worthy friend, George Storrs,” finding him too ill to receive visitors. Four days later, Dr. Thomas called back at Storrs’ home to see how he fared, and noted that he had “breakfasted with bro. Storrs, whom he found convalescent but feeble.”
This relationship faltered after Dr. Thomas returned from England. By August, 1853, Dr. Thomas was criticizing Storrs severely for not having been baptized, based on some comments he (Storrs) had made about a lecture by Dr. Thomas in Rochester, New York. Dr. Thomas had said, “A man may believe the truth with all his heart for twenty years, and yet not be justified …Baptism is essential to this…this is the law of justification; we are immersed into the name of Jesus Christ.” Storrs took exception to this, and of course Dr. Thomas defended his belief on baptism in his normal, forthright way. The whole tone of the article is of sorrow: “I hope it will not be long before he (Storrs) is (immersed); for certainly the Lord is at hand to come quickly; and if He finds him in his nakedness, Mr. Storrs (no longer now brother Storrs) well knows what the consequence will be.”
By 1861, the relationship had soured completely. Dr. Thomas wrote a seven-page article on “Bible-Examinerism Reviewed” which he printed in his Herald of the Kingdom. George Storrs had denounced him as a “dogmatist ” and Dr. Thomas took pride in it. “A dogmatist is a bold advancer of principles, and one who asserts positively, and teaches magisterially.” Thus Dr. Thomas defended himself, having been accused of preaching that unbaptized infants have no hope of resurrection. He ended his article with these words; “There will be babies enough in the world when this glorious work begins, without raising an additional crop out of the earth.” Not perhaps the words that would be used in this day! Thus any lingering friendship between the two had dissipated on who would be raised to immortality. Though Dr. Thomas sometimes referred to his followers as (erring) “Storrites,” it was still in sorrow that he wrote “…Far be it from us to say that no good has been done as a result of our friend’s performance upon his single string.” That single string was Storrs’ position on the immortal soul.
Conclusion
During a period in the late 1840’s, Dr. Thomas was being cut off from almost all access to the Campbellites, so he searched for friends, potential converts, and fellow travelers among those who were, or who had been, Millerites. Storrs was one of the most prominent among these. It is clear Dr. Thomas respected him and was at first his friend. They shared beliefs in two major areas: the non-immortality of the soul, and the imminent return of the Lord Jesus, although they differed in the details on both accounts. The two men pursued partially parallel paths for awhile, but it is eminently clear that Dr. Thomas had formed his own opinions in these two areas before he came into contact with Storrs. It has thus been worthwhile to read about this man who might have had it all. John Thomas heard many of the clamoring voices of the American Reformation, of whom George Storrs was one, and in the end he withdrew from them all, boldly defending the narrow way that constitutes “The Things We Stand For.”
Note on Sources. I am grateful to Sis. Jean Wilson for sending me her copies of George Storrs’ works, including the Bible Examiner and his Six Sermons. Relatively accessible accounts of Storrs’ life and beliefs are to be found in two works by L.E. Froom: The Conditionalist Faith of our Fathers and The Prophetic Faith of our Fathers. The most accessible detailed account of Storrs and the Jehovah’s Witnesses is to be found in Apocalypse Delayed, by M.J. Penton.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One