John Humphrey Noyes was born in Brattleboro, Vermont, on 3 September 1811. He had a conversion experience in 1831, after which he changed his career plans from law to the ministry. He studied theology, first at Andover Theological Seminary and then at Yale Divinity School. In February 1834 he underwent a second conversion experience that he believed set him apart forever. As he later explained, all people were born to sin; some, however, could have a converting experience. A chosen few had a second, more thorough converting experience after which it became possible for them to follow Christ's command in Matt. 5:48: "Be you perfect, even as my Father in heaven is perfect." In the terms of the day, Noyes became a "perfectionist," or someone who claimed to have attained sinlessness.
Noyes converted a few friends and family members to.....
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