Ellen g white

Joseph bates
A pioneer writer and scholar-evangelist, John Nevins Andrews exercised wide influence in the early Seventh-day Adventist church.
J.

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Who Was J. N. Andrews, and How Did He Contribute to Adventism?

Who was J. N. Andrews?

J. N. Andrews was born in Poland, Maine, on July 22, 1829. But soon after, his family moved to Paris Hill, Maine, where he grew up in a farming community.

His only record of formal schooling is six months of secondary school at age 14. But he had an appetite for learning and continued to teach himself.

By his late teens, he could read several languages and had a broad general knowledge. He also had a good understanding of Latin, algebra, and English grammar.

His aunt said that Andrews was a “fine, promising boy—a very fine scholar and strictly moral [with] first-rate common sense.”¹

One of his uncles noticed his scholarly potential and offered to pay for Andrews to attend law school. But by this time, he and his family had become Millerites.

And this religious experience led him down the path that he took for the rest of his life.

Conversion and joining the Millerite Movement

J. N. Andrews traced his first religious conviction to the young age of five. That’s when he heard a sermon o

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John Nevins Andrews

1829-1883

J. N. Andrews was born July 22, 1829, in Poland, Maine. He quit school at the age of 11 and was largely self-taught, apparently quite effectively. It is reported that later in life he was fluent in seven languages and could recite the New Testament by memory. His uncle Charles, a member of the U.S. Congress, offered to pay for his training as a lawyer so he could follow a political career. However, early in 1845, at age 15, after reading a tract written by T. M. Preble, John accepted the Sabbath--a decision that changed the direction of his life. He and Uriah Smith married sisters, Angeline and Harriet Stevens.

Andrews had a long and productive association both with the church and with James and Ellen White. His name first appeared in Adventist literature when, in October of 1849, at age 20, he wrote a letter to the editor of the Present Truth, James White. When the first Adventist press was set up in Rochester, New York, in 1852, he became one member of a publishing committee of three, at age 22. The other two members were Joseph Bates

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John Nevins Andrews

John Nevins Andrews (1829-1883)

J. N. Andrews was an intellectual who enjoyed “severe study” much more than physical activity. He was closely associated with James & Ellen White in the leadership and evangelistic work of the SDA Church.

As a theologian, Andrews made great strides in the development of church doctrines. He applied the two-horned beast of Rev. 13 to the United States of America. Further, he was influential in creating the church’s bylaws and constitution. In 1855, after thorough investigation, Andrews adopted sunset Friday evening as the beginning of the Sabbath. This began a standard for the church. He also organized the church as a legal business association, allowing the church to obtain legal possession of property. During the Civil War, Andrews lobbied for non-combatant designation for SDA draftees.

In 1860, he was involved in the organization of the denominational publishing house. The following year, he published his extensive research, History of the Sabbath and the First Day of the Week. This was a work revi