gave the reasons of his faith . As Elisha was called from following his oxen in the field , to receive the mantle of consecration to the prophetic office , so was William Miller called to leave his plow and open to the people the mysteries of the kingdom of God . With trembling he entered upon his work , leading his hearers down , step by step , through the prophetic periods to the second appearing of Christ . With every effort he gained strength and courage as he saw the widespread interest excited by his words .
It was only at the solicitation of his brethren , in whose words he heard the call of God , that Miller consented to present his views in public . He was now fifty years of age , unaccustomed to public speaking , and burdened with a sense of unfitness for the work before him . But from the first his labours were blessed in a remarkable manner to the salvation of souls . His first lecture was followed by a religious awakening in which thirteen entire families , with the exception of two persons , were converted . He was immediately urged to speak in other places , and in nearly every place his labour resulted in a revival of the work of God . Sinners were converted , Christians were roused to greater consecration , and deists and infidels were led to acknowledge the truth of the Bible and the Christian religion . The testimony of those among whom he laboured was : " A class of minds are reached by him not within the influence of other men ." -- Ibid ., page 138 . His preaching was calculated to arouse the public mind to the great things of religion and to check the growing worldliness and sensuality of the age .
In nearly every town there were scores , in some , hundreds , converted as a result of his preaching . In many places Protestant churches of nearly all denominations were thrown open to him , and the invitations to labour usually came from the ministers of the several congregations . It was his invariable rule not to labour in any place to which he had not been invited , yet he soon found himself unable to comply with half the requests that poured in upon him . Many who did not accept his views as to the exact time of the second advent were convinced of the certainty and nearness of Christ ' s coming and their need of preparation . In some of the large cities his work produced a marked impression . Liquor dealers abandoned the traffic and turned their shops into meeting rooms ; gambling dens were broken up ; infidels , deists , Universalists , and even the most abandoned profligates were reformed , some of whom had not entered a house of worship for years . Prayer meetings were established by the various denominations , in different quarters , at almost every hour , businessmen assembling at midday for prayer and praise . There was no extravagant excitement , but an almost universal solemnity on the minds of the people . His work , like that of the early Reformers , tended rather to convince the understanding and arouse the conscience than merely to excite the emotions .
In 1833 Miller received a license to preach , from the Baptist Church , of which he was a member . A large number of the ministers of his denomination also approved his work , and it was with their formal sanction that he continued his labours . He traveled and preached unceasingly ,
207