From Eighteen Eighty-Eight to Apostasy: The Case of A. T. Jones

A. T. Jones was one of the most fascinating personalities ever to grace a Seventh-day Adventist pulpit. Adventists have always had a curiosity regarding the powerful Jones, who meteorically rose to denominational prominence in 1888 and sank almost as rapidly into oblivion in the early twentieth century. To examine Jone's life is to study a cross section of Adventist history during one of its most formative and controversial periods. Because Jones was at the center of action, his biography, of necessity, must deal with such issues ad the meaning of the 1888 General Conference session, the problem of 1893 and the delay of Christ's return, the nature of sanctification, the Adventist holiness movement, charismatic gifts, the role of Ellen White, the human nature of Christ, the Adventist crusade against a Christian America, church and state relationships, and the proper function of church organization. Those issues have been at the focal point of Adventist discussion for nearly a century. As a result, the biography of A. T. Jones is not merely a fascinating story, but is pregnant with contemporary meaning.