Drawing from his research for the first scholarly biography of this Adventist pioneer, historian Brian Strayer details the rise, decline, and mythology of Hiram Edson. He didn’t have visions, but “presentments.” Also, despite being the man who saw the heavenly sanctuary on October 23, 1844, Edson focused his interests elsewhere. He even quit going to church for a while late in life. Strayer grounds all this in the larger mid-1800s New York religious context where innovation, ecstatic expression, and social change were influencing what became the Adventist Church.

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