In 1844, Reverend William Miller returned to his small town of Calvary, NY along the Vermont border. He has spent years studying various religious texts in order to find the date of the upcoming apocalypse. According to Reverend Miller, that date is only months away on October 22nd. Reverend Miller whips the small town into a frenzy with the news. A divide forms in Calvary between the believers and non-believers. However, as a series of events from around the world seems to coincide with the breaking of the seals that Reverend Miller predicted would happen, more people are pulled to his side. Soon words spread of the upcoming apocalypse and people began to flock to Calvary. One family of Calvary dealing with issues of their own, Henry Smith, decide that Miller's apocalyptic message is not for them and he would rather focus on his farm and his young son's health. However, even after the day in question passes with no changes, Miller's followers dig in harder to his message and decide that the non-believers are to blame and placing the Smith family in imminent danger.
Clouds Without Water is based on the very real events of "The Great Disappointment" in 1844. I love learning about history when I'm reading and this is history that is part of my state as well. Followers of Miller not only went into mass hysteria led by the beliefs of one man, giving up their possessions, closing businesses and selling their land, but continued their beliefs long after creating the Seventh Day Adventists Church. The story is very compelling to me as it shows how easily people will believe something and how quickly those beliefs can be turned into something dangerous. Reverend Miller's character was charismatic and off putting all at once. The Smith family represented those who chose not to believe Miller even though they were ostracized by everyone they knew. I related to Henry's fortitude and distrust of Miller's prophecy and was amazed at his calm as the event unfolded. I was amazed at the Baptist church's view as a whole whose reasoning still resonates today: "They may be small, but their voices are not." I would have loved to know what happened to the Smith family after the Millerites came for them as well as the feelings of the Millerites as time passed with no prophecy fulfilled.
This book was received for free in return for an honest review.
Clouds Without Water is based on the very real events of "The Great Disappointment" in 1844. I love learning about history when I'm reading and this is history that is part of my state as well. Followers of Miller not only went into mass hysteria led by the beliefs of one man, giving up their possessions, closing businesses and selling their land, but continued their beliefs long after creating the Seventh Day Adventists Church. The story is very compelling to me as it shows how easily people will believe something and how quickly those beliefs can be turned into something dangerous. Reverend Miller's character was charismatic and off putting all at once. The Smith family represented those who chose not to believe Miller even though they were ostracized by everyone they knew. I related to Henry's fortitude and distrust of Miller's prophecy and was amazed at his calm as the event unfolded. I was amazed at the Baptist church's view as a whole whose reasoning still resonates today: "They may be small, but their voices are not." I would have loved to know what happened to the Smith family after the Millerites came for them as well as the feelings of the Millerites as time passed with no prophecy fulfilled.
This book was received for free in return for an honest review.
