D. M. Canright
Encyclopedia
Dudley Marvin Canright (1840–1919) was a pastor in the Seventh-day Adventist Church
for 22 years, who later left the church and became one of its severest critics. He joined the church in 1859, at the age of 19, and rose through the ministry to a position of prominence on the General Conference
, a committee of Seventh-day Adventist Church leaders.
, held by Elder James White
, near Albion. There, he accepted the doctrine of the Advent Message, and was soon baptized into the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Dudley briefly served as secretary to Elder White, who encouraged him to enter the ministry. For 5 years, after converting his entire family to Adventism, Dudley served as an evangelist for the Seventh-day Adventist Church, traveling and preaching across the midwestern U.S. In 1865, at the age of 24, Dudley Canright was ordained by James White and J. N. Loughborough, in a service held at Battle Creek.
Dudley continued his evangelistic career, preaching throughout New England. In 1867, he married Lucretia Cranson, a 19-year old orphan, partially brought up by Ellen G. White
. Mr. and Mrs. Canright had 3 children, 2 of whom survived infancy.
The life of a traveling minister's wife was harsh for Mrs. Canright, and in 1879, she succumbed to tuberculosis
. Two years later, Dudley was re-married, to a Miss Lucy Hadden. Their union produced 4 children, 3 of whom survived infancy.
he was 1 of 3 men elected to the General Conference Executive Committee, the most prestigious committee in the denomination. In 1878, Canright was elected President of the Sabbath School
Association of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. From his high position in the church, he began to eye the highest office of all, that of the presidency of the denomination.
Canright was frequently called upon by Elder James White, and other leaders of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, to debate ministers of other denominations, generally on the question of the seventh-day Sabbath:
In the 1880s, Canright gradually became disillusioned with what he considered autocratic behavior on the parts of Elder and Mrs. White. In 1880, he retired briefly from the ministry and journeyed through the Midwest, as an elocution teacher and lecturer. After a year of itinerant living, he returned to Battle Creek, Michigan, where he reconciled himself with Elder and Mrs. White.
. Once again, he began to have doubts about the White family, particularly about Ellen White's purported "gift of prophecy". He wavered repeatedly, several times emerging from his early retirement to hold meetings and preach. Throughout the early 1880s, his relations with Mrs. White remained amicable.
Then, quite abruptly, in 1887, Canright and his wife, Lucy Canright, left the Seventh-day Adventist Church. It was a decision he had been mulling over for a year. In severing his relations with his home church, the Otsego Seventh-day Adventist Church, Canright stated the following, as recorded by the church clerk:
In 1933, the Review and Herald published In Defense of the Faith: A Reply To Canright. Written by W.H. Branson, an Adventist minister, the book sought to correct what the author alleged were Canright's distortions and misrepresentations of Adventist doctrine. In 1971, the church published I Was Canright's Secretary, by Carrie Johnson, a memoir of her work for D.M. Canright in the early 1900s.
, Dudley and his family briefly considered joining the Methodist Church, but finally settled upon the Baptist Church. On March 5, 1887, he, his wife and their daughter Veva (Genevieve) were accepted into the Otsego Baptist Church. On the 17th he was given a license to preach, and 2 days later, was ordained and made the Church's salaried pastor. He remained in this position until 1889.
In September 1890, Dudley and his family left Otsego, moving to Grand Rapids, Michigan. There, he became Pastor Emeritus of the Berean Baptist Church, an office he held for only a year. During his time as pastor of these churches, he occupied himself in writing his 413-page critique, Seventh-day Adventism Renounced, which was published in 1889. In 1915, he and his brother Jasper attended the funeral of Ellen G. White
, during which he reportedly exclaimed, "There is a noble Christian woman gone!"
In March 1916, Canright accompanied an old Adventist friend, J.H. Morrison, to a church workers' meeting in Battle Creek. Afterward, they went to Morrison's house. Following that visit, Canright walked to the local Baptist church, where he had a key to the basement. Unaware that extensive remodeling had taken place, and arriving at the church after dark, Canright fell through an open hole into the basement, broke his leg, and remained there for two days. He was taken to the local hospital, and then to the Battle Creek Sanitarium, where his leg was amputated. He spent the last 3 years of his life with his daughter Genevieve, who had converted to Christian Science
. Canright died in May 1919. Two months later, his final book, The Life of Mrs. E.G. White, was published. In it he criticised White heavily and maintained among others
Counterstatements:
Seventh-day Adventist Church
The Seventh-day Adventist Church is a Protestant Christian denomination distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the original seventh day of the Judeo-Christian week, as the Sabbath, and by its emphasis on the imminent second coming of Jesus Christ...
for 22 years, who later left the church and became one of its severest critics. He joined the church in 1859, at the age of 19, and rose through the ministry to a position of prominence on the General Conference
General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists
The General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists is the governing organization of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. It is located in Silver Spring, Maryland, United States, where it moved in 1989...
, a committee of Seventh-day Adventist Church leaders.
Early life
Dudley Marvin Canright was born in a farmhouse near Kinderhook, Michigan, on September 22, 1840, to Hiram and Loretta Canright. In 1859, at the age of 19, Dudley journeyed eastwards to attend the Albion Academy, in Albion, New York. To support himself, he worked as a farmhand for Elder Roswell F. Cottrell, a Seventh-day Adventist minister. In the summer of 1859, he attended a camp meetingCamp meeting
The camp meeting is a form of Protestant Christian religious service originating in Britain and once common in some parts of the United States, wherein people would travel from a large area to a particular site to camp out, listen to itinerant preachers, and pray...
, held by Elder James White
James Springer White
James Springer White , also known as Elder White was a co-founder of the Seventh-day Adventist Church and husband of Ellen G. White...
, near Albion. There, he accepted the doctrine of the Advent Message, and was soon baptized into the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Dudley briefly served as secretary to Elder White, who encouraged him to enter the ministry. For 5 years, after converting his entire family to Adventism, Dudley served as an evangelist for the Seventh-day Adventist Church, traveling and preaching across the midwestern U.S. In 1865, at the age of 24, Dudley Canright was ordained by James White and J. N. Loughborough, in a service held at Battle Creek.
Dudley continued his evangelistic career, preaching throughout New England. In 1867, he married Lucretia Cranson, a 19-year old orphan, partially brought up by Ellen G. White
Ellen G. White
Ellen Gould White was a prolific author and an American Christian pioneer. She, along with other Sabbatarian Adventist leaders, such as Joseph Bates and her husband James White, would form what is now known as the Seventh-day Adventist Church.Ellen White reported to her fellow believers her...
. Mr. and Mrs. Canright had 3 children, 2 of whom survived infancy.
The life of a traveling minister's wife was harsh for Mrs. Canright, and in 1879, she succumbed to tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
. Two years later, Dudley was re-married, to a Miss Lucy Hadden. Their union produced 4 children, 3 of whom survived infancy.
Controversy within the Adventist Church
For 20 years, Canright labored as a minister and evangelist for the Seventh-day Adventist Church across the United States. He was also a notable contributor to the Adventist periodical, the Review and Herald (now the Adventist Review). During a vacation in Colorado with James and Ellen White in 1873, Canright and his wife had a falling out with them. Canright and James White reconciled later that year. At the 1876 General Conference SessionGeneral Conference Session
The General Conference Session is the official world meeting of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. The first session was held on May 20, 1863 with 20 delegates in attendance, and it is now held quinquennially ....
he was 1 of 3 men elected to the General Conference Executive Committee, the most prestigious committee in the denomination. In 1878, Canright was elected President of the Sabbath School
Sabbath School
Sabbath School is a function of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, Seventh Day Baptist and some other sabbatarian denominations.-Program Context:...
Association of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. From his high position in the church, he began to eye the highest office of all, that of the presidency of the denomination.
Canright was frequently called upon by Elder James White, and other leaders of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, to debate ministers of other denominations, generally on the question of the seventh-day Sabbath:
In the 1880s, Canright gradually became disillusioned with what he considered autocratic behavior on the parts of Elder and Mrs. White. In 1880, he retired briefly from the ministry and journeyed through the Midwest, as an elocution teacher and lecturer. After a year of itinerant living, he returned to Battle Creek, Michigan, where he reconciled himself with Elder and Mrs. White.
Reconciliation with the church
In a September 13, 1881 article in the Advent Review and Herald, entitled, "Danger of Giving Way to Discouragement and Doubts", Canright wrote:Defection
In 1881, back as a Seventh-day Adventist minister, Canright remarried, and continued his life as a traveling evangelist for another year. Then, in 1882, he retired from the ministry and bought a farm in Otsego, MichiganOtsego, Michigan
Otsego is a city in Allegan County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 3,934 at the 2000 census. The city is within Otsego Township, but is administratively autonomous....
. Once again, he began to have doubts about the White family, particularly about Ellen White's purported "gift of prophecy". He wavered repeatedly, several times emerging from his early retirement to hold meetings and preach. Throughout the early 1880s, his relations with Mrs. White remained amicable.
Then, quite abruptly, in 1887, Canright and his wife, Lucy Canright, left the Seventh-day Adventist Church. It was a decision he had been mulling over for a year. In severing his relations with his home church, the Otsego Seventh-day Adventist Church, Canright stated the following, as recorded by the church clerk:
In 1933, the Review and Herald published In Defense of the Faith: A Reply To Canright. Written by W.H. Branson, an Adventist minister, the book sought to correct what the author alleged were Canright's distortions and misrepresentations of Adventist doctrine. In 1971, the church published I Was Canright's Secretary, by Carrie Johnson, a memoir of her work for D.M. Canright in the early 1900s.
Life after Adventism
Having left the Seventh-day Adventist ChurchSeventh-day Adventist Church
The Seventh-day Adventist Church is a Protestant Christian denomination distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the original seventh day of the Judeo-Christian week, as the Sabbath, and by its emphasis on the imminent second coming of Jesus Christ...
, Dudley and his family briefly considered joining the Methodist Church, but finally settled upon the Baptist Church. On March 5, 1887, he, his wife and their daughter Veva (Genevieve) were accepted into the Otsego Baptist Church. On the 17th he was given a license to preach, and 2 days later, was ordained and made the Church's salaried pastor. He remained in this position until 1889.
In September 1890, Dudley and his family left Otsego, moving to Grand Rapids, Michigan. There, he became Pastor Emeritus of the Berean Baptist Church, an office he held for only a year. During his time as pastor of these churches, he occupied himself in writing his 413-page critique, Seventh-day Adventism Renounced, which was published in 1889. In 1915, he and his brother Jasper attended the funeral of Ellen G. White
Ellen G. White
Ellen Gould White was a prolific author and an American Christian pioneer. She, along with other Sabbatarian Adventist leaders, such as Joseph Bates and her husband James White, would form what is now known as the Seventh-day Adventist Church.Ellen White reported to her fellow believers her...
, during which he reportedly exclaimed, "There is a noble Christian woman gone!"
In March 1916, Canright accompanied an old Adventist friend, J.H. Morrison, to a church workers' meeting in Battle Creek. Afterward, they went to Morrison's house. Following that visit, Canright walked to the local Baptist church, where he had a key to the basement. Unaware that extensive remodeling had taken place, and arriving at the church after dark, Canright fell through an open hole into the basement, broke his leg, and remained there for two days. He was taken to the local hospital, and then to the Battle Creek Sanitarium, where his leg was amputated. He spent the last 3 years of his life with his daughter Genevieve, who had converted to Christian Science
Christian Science
Christian Science is a system of thought and practice derived from the writings of Mary Baker Eddy and the Bible. It is practiced by members of The First Church of Christ, Scientist as well as some others who are nonmembers. Its central texts are the Bible and the Christian Science textbook,...
. Canright died in May 1919. Two months later, his final book, The Life of Mrs. E.G. White, was published. In it he criticised White heavily and maintained among others
- that the early doctrines held in 1844 and up to 1851 failed utterly,
- some cases where her prophesies were wrong and then suppressed afterwards,
- that she rebuked and controlled peoples' conduct, purportedly by spiritual knowledge, but factually by informings that often attacked an innocent part,
- that she plagiarized lots of her purportedly God inspired texts from other authors and had to revise one of her books at an expense of $3000.
External links
Canright's statements:- Seventh-day Adventism RENOUNCED, by Canright
- The Lord's Day From Neither Catholics nor Pagans: An Answer to Seventh-Day Adventism on this Subject by Canright
- Life of Mrs. E.G. White - Her Claims Refuted by Canright
- Life of Ellen White, by Canright, print edition.
Counterstatements:
- I Was Canright's Secretary by Carrie Johnson
- The Case of D.M. Canright by Norman F. DoutyNorman F. Douty-Biography:Douty was born in Central Pennsylvania on January 14, 1899. He came to faith in 1910 and was licensed to preach in 1919. After graduating from seminary, he served as a pastor in several churches before taking up an itinerant ministry throughout the USA...
- In Defense of the Faith: A Reply to Canright by William H. Branson
- Historical Interview of Carrie Johnson (Canwright's Secretary) (audio)