Joseph Bates was born in 1792 in Rochester, Massachusetts. At the age of fifteen, he accepted a job as a cabin boy aboard the Fanny, sailing from New York City to London. Thus began his career on the high seas, which culminated in Joseph becoming a respected ship captain.During one of his trips, Joseph read the Bible his wife had packed in his trunk and was converted. Thus set in motion his most important quest—developing a deeper understanding of Scripture and a deeper love for his Lord and Savior.In 1839 Bates accepted the teachings of William Miller. Then, months after the Great Disappointment, in the spring of 1845, Joseph accepted the seventh-day Sabbath truth. Consequently, he shared this good news with James and Ellen White, which resulted in his second career as a speaker, writer, and founding pioneer of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, which was formed in 1863.The Autobiography of Elder Joseph Bates provides an in-depth look into his childhood, his adventures traversing the ocean, his conversion and the reform movements he supported, and his study of Scripture and the biblical truths he discovered.
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