The Seventh-day Adventist Church
The Seventh-day Adventist Church is the largest of several Adventist groups which arose from the Millerite movement of the 1840s. As the early Adventist movement consolidated, the question of the biblical day of the rest and worship was raised, basically during times of bible study. The foremost proponent of Sabbath keeping among early Adventists was retired sea captain Joseph Bates. Bates was introduced to the Sabbath doctrine by a tract written by a Millerite preacher named Thomas M. Preble, who in turn had been influenced by Rachel Oakes Preston, a young Seventh Day Baptist. This message was gradually accepted and formed the topic of the first edition of the church publication The Present truth.