A third type of fanaticism confronted by Ellen White was extreme sanctification, sometimes called “holy flesh.” This fanaticism came to the Millerite movement in 1842 through John Starkweather, who served briefly as associate pastor with Joshua V. Himes at the Chardon Street Chapel in Boston.42 Josiah Litch, “Protest,” The Midnight Cry, Sept. 14, 1843, p. 29; Sylvester Bliss et al., Defence of Elder Joshua V. Himes, pp. 7, 8, 11, 12; see also George R. Knight, Millennial Fever, pp. 174-177.
During the first half of 1845 a similar form of fanaticism was active in Maine. William H. Hyde, the 17-year-old son of a Portland bookseller, is one example. Hyde became involved with Adventists who were advocating that they “show their love for one another” in a familiar way. They believed that men and women could remain pure and lie together innocently on the same bed.43 “Notes From a Talk With Mrs. E. G. White, Dec. 12, 1906,” Ellen G. White Estate, DF 733-c. Ibid.; James and Ellen G. White, Life Sketches (1888), pp. 200, 201.