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    URIAH SMITH

    Picture:APBP 20

    PERENNIAL EDITOR OF THE REVIEW
    May 2, 1832 — March 6, 1903
    APBP 20.1

    Few Seventh-day Adventists have known their Bibles better than Uriah Smith. He was a quiet, reserved man who impressed people by his learning and appearance. A man of noble countenance, he commanded respect.APBP 20.2

    In December, 1852, he accepted the light of the message taught by the Sabbath-keeping Adventists. The following year he associated with the publishing interests of the “little flock” of believers in Rochester. For about a half century he was the editor or on the editorial staff of the church paper, the Review and Herald. Uriah Smith was the first Secretary of the General Conference, accepting this post at the organization of the General Conference in the spring of the year 1863.APBP 20.3

    He is best known for his book, The Prophecies of Daniel and the Revelation, which has circulated by the thousands of copies. He was the first Bible teacher at Battle Creek College.APBP 20.4

    Uriah Smith was born in a fine-looking house in the little town of West Wilton, New Hampshire. He was as solid in his character as any New Englander, true “grit of the granite state.” The birthplace of Uriah Smith and his sister Annie still stands in this tiny New England town. It is now called the Eagle House and may be visited by interested tourists.APBP 20.5

    A short time before his death, the main building of the Review and Herald burned down. This was a grave tragedy. The heart and soul of Uriah Smith was bound up with this institution. His whole life had been dedicated to its development.APBP 20.6

    Elder Smith was often seen walking down the streets of Battle Creek with his cane, limping along on his artificial limb, for he had suffered an amputation as a teen-age boy. His inventive genius led him to create an artificial limb which he used during much of his lifetime. He was versatile and intelligent, as were most of the pioneers. The early workers were people of stature-high caliber. God chose the best that He could find to do the most important work given to men and women in these last days.APBP 20.7

    See: Footprints of the Pioneers, pp.123-129; Pioneer Stories Retold, pp.178-181.APBP 20.8

    A Story About Uriah Smith

    When Uriah was just twelve years old a local infection brought on by an illness required the amputation of his left leg above the knee. His courageous struggle with pain and shock built into his frame of clay those steel girders that made him the solid man he was.APBP 20.9

    Think what it meant to lose a leg in those days. There were no white-robed surgeons and nurses to minister to the patient, no merciful anesthetic, and no competent hospital care. A noted surgeon of nearby Keene, Dr. Amos Twitchell, cut off the leg and bound it in twenty minutes. Uriah’s mother held his hands. Then she and his loving sister took care of him.APBP 20.10

    This injury of his early years brought confinement to Elder Smith in later life. He was not able to get out and move around like the other ministers. He just couldn’t. So what did he do? Settle down to discouragement? No. His injury was a blessing to him for it brought out his inventive genius. For a while he used the clumsy artificial limb that they provided for him, with a solid foot, but he didn’t like it, so he set to work and invented a pliable foot, got a patent for it, and with the money he received from its sale, he bought his first house in Battle Creek.APBP 20.11

    W. A. Spicer gives us his impression of Uriah Smith:APBP 21.1

    “As a boy I always passed Elder Smith’s editorial room in the old Battle Creek Review and Herald office with somewhat of awe: for there was a notice on the door in dark purple-colored ink and in large letters:APBP 21.2

    “‘Editor’s Room.APBP 21.3

    Busy? Yes, always.APBP 21.4

    If you have any business,APBP 21.5

    Attend to your business,APBP 21.6

    And let us attend to our business.’”APBP 21.7

    -Pioneer Days of the Advent Movement, pages 245,246.APBP 21.8

    Yes, Smith was a man who was on the march. He was busy with the Lord’s business and he wanted others to be about theirs, but he was a graceful and a tender-hearted man. If you don’t think so, read the last chapter of his book, The Prophecies of Daniel and the Revelation. It will thrill you. It is so full of heart longings for the new earth, our eternal home.APBP 21.9

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