"Truth of any kind is food for the soul."

The Rev. Jesse Caswell, 1841

Saturday, December 29, 2012

Seventh-Day Adventist Beginnings in Siam

At the moment, almost all of my library on Thai church history is still in Thailand while I'm in the U.S., so my resources for things like dates and names and events are mostly limited to what I remember or can find online.  According to Wikipedia (here), Seventh-day Adventist work began in Siam in 1919.  If so, that makes a long article written in 1918 on the potential of the mission field in Siam of some historical significance.  The article is entitled simply, "Siam,"  It is found under the heading, "Unentered Regions," in the publication Asiatic Division Outlook 7, 14-15 (1 August 1918): 2-4 and is followed by a second article entitled, "Facts Concerning Siam," pages 4-6. The main article is primarily a summary of Protestant church history in Siam that ends with a rosy picture of the evangelistic opportunities of the Siam field.  The article in and of itself is not particularly noteworthy other than its connection with the beginnings of Seventh-day work in Thailand.

Researchers interested in Seventh-day Adventist beginnings in Siam should note that the Seventh-day Adventist General Conference Archives online has a set of pdf files for  Asiatic Division Outlook for the years 1912-1930 (here) as well as a long list of other historical resources.  I don't know what all is in there, but a very quick look did produce an article (here) by V. L. Beecham, "Siam, the Land of the Yellow Robe," ADO, 12 17 (1 September 1923): 7.