Dwight S. Banks was born in Rumford, Maine, October 5, 1899. His father was employed there as a painter for the Great Northern Paper Company. When Dwight was about six months old his father was transferred to Millinocket, Maine. Here, after a time, he set himself up in business as a painter, and by his industry and character became one of the leading men of the town.
When Dwight was about six years old, his father who had always been active in the church, felt a definite call to give up his business and enter the ministry. To do this meant the surrender of all his personal ambitions, and a great financial loss, but the call of God meant more than these. Through his pastor he was called to the pastorate of three small Baptist churches located about nine miles from Bangor, in the towns of Levant, W. Levant, and S. Levant.
While here, he came in contact with some members of the Life and Advent Church, and hearing them preach the imminent, literal return of the Lord Jesus, remonstrated with them for preaching what he felt to be contrary to the Scripture. In reply to their arguments, he admitted that he had never had occasion to really study the subject, but stated that if he was given a few months to look into the matter he would prove his position. Challenged to do this, he pored over his Bible. A better student by nature than many college men today, it did not take him long to discover that the Second Coming was indeed a Bible doctrine. To his great surprise he found that his wife had preceeded him in accepting this view.
Admitting to his Adventist friends that he had been mistaken, Dwight's father at once sought to impart his new-found truth to his congregations, but at that time the Baptists were not favorable to the doctrine of the Second Coming, and soon he was told that he must either stop preaching it or resign. A man of conviction, he promptly resigned, and a short time later the family moved to Hermon, Maine, which was about four miles away, where he had received a call to the Free Baptist Church.
Sometime during this period, he had contacted Rev. J. A. Woodworth, then pastor of the Bangor Advent Christian Church. As a result of their conversations together, Mr. Banks decided to join the Bangor Church in which resolve he was joined by Dwight's mother and older brother, Ivan. In Dwight's own words we quote: "I can well remember the day when the four of us went to church there, and to my great surprise the three of them were called forward and given the right hand of fellowship. Loyal little Baptist that I was, I felt deeply hurt, particularly since I had not previously heard of their plan to join the Adventists. On reaching home I discovered that my sister who was six years older, had similar feelings. Furthermore, knowing what was going to take place, she had refrained from going to Bangor with us."
Shortly after this event, Mr. Banks was appointed State Evangelist by the Maine Advent Christian Conference, and the family moved to Bangor. Here all attended the Advent Christian Church, and gradually Dwight's feelings subsided and when he was twelve years old he decided he wanted to be baptized. He had accepted the Lord when about eight years old, and had planned to be baptized then, but his mother had never allowed him to play near the rivers or pond, and when he saw the large lake where he and the other candidates were to be baptized, it was too much, and his courage failed him so that he was among the missing when his name was called. As a result he waited four years for another opportunity, which came in Bangor.
In 1913 his father became pastor of the Somerville, Mass., Advent Christian Church. The following year his brother Ivan enrolled in the Boston Bible School, now the New England School of Theology. As a result of this contact a number of the young people from the Somerville Church began going over to the school for evening classes in Teacher Training and Music. Dwight was among this group, and through the influence of the school he came to feel that God was calling him for service. Accordingly he enrolled in the School the following year, and at his urgent request was admitted to his brother's class on condition that he make up some work.
Boston : Woman's Home and Foreign Mission Society of the Advent Christian Denomination [1946?] [8] p.
Transcribed for Berkshire Christian College's Adventual Library, 12 Jun 2023, by Duane E. Crabtree