Difference between revisions of "Dwight Moody" - New World Encyclopedia

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Dwight Moody was born in the village of East [[Northfield, Massachusetts]] to a large family. His father, Edwin Moody, a small farmer and stone mason, died at the age of 41 when Dwight was but four years old. At that time, he had five older brothers and a younger sister, with an additional twin brother and sister born one month after his father's death. His mother, Betsy (nee Holton) struggled to support the family, yet despite her best efforts, some of the children had to be sent off to work, including Dwight. During this difficult time, however, she continued to send them to church. Together with his eight siblings Dwight was raised in the [[Unitarianism|Unitarian church]].  
 
Dwight Moody was born in the village of East [[Northfield, Massachusetts]] to a large family. His father, Edwin Moody, a small farmer and stone mason, died at the age of 41 when Dwight was but four years old. At that time, he had five older brothers and a younger sister, with an additional twin brother and sister born one month after his father's death. His mother, Betsy (nee Holton) struggled to support the family, yet despite her best efforts, some of the children had to be sent off to work, including Dwight. During this difficult time, however, she continued to send them to church. Together with his eight siblings Dwight was raised in the [[Unitarianism|Unitarian church]].  
  
When Moody turned 16, he moved to [[Boston, Massachusetts|Boston]] to work in his uncle's shoe store. One of his uncle's requirements was that Moody attend the Congregational Church of Mount Vernon where [[Edward Norris Kirk|Dr. Edward Norris Kirk]] was [[pastor]].
+
When Moody turned 16, he moved to [[Boston, Massachusetts|Boston]] to work in his uncle's shoe store. One of his uncle's requirements was that Moody attend the [[Congregational Church]] of Mount Vernon where [[Edward Norris Kirk|Dr. Edward Norris Kirk]] was [[pastor]].
 
It was at this time, in April 1855, that Dwight Moody converted to evangelical Christianity.
 
It was at this time, in April 1855, that Dwight Moody converted to evangelical Christianity.
  
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Moody moved to [[Chicago|Chicago, Illinois]] in September, 1856, where he joined the Plymouth Congregational Church, and began to take an active part in the prayer meetings. In the spring of 1857, he began to minister to the welfare of the sailors in Chicago's port, then gamblers and thieves in the saloons.
 
Moody moved to [[Chicago|Chicago, Illinois]] in September, 1856, where he joined the Plymouth Congregational Church, and began to take an active part in the prayer meetings. In the spring of 1857, he began to minister to the welfare of the sailors in Chicago's port, then gamblers and thieves in the saloons.
  
Along with Mr. J. B. Stillson, a business man, who was employing his spare time in the same Sunday School missionary work, he "recruited" or taught in hundreds of Sunday schools in the greater Chicago area.  As a result of their tireless labor, within a year the average attendance at Moody's own school was 650, with 60 volunteers from various churches serving as teachers. It became so well known that the just-elected [[Abraham Lincoln|President Lincoln]] visited and spoke at a Sunday School meeting on November 25, 1860.
+
Along with Mr. J. B. Stillson, a business man, who was employing his spare time in the same Sunday school missionary work, he "recruited" or taught in hundreds of Sunday schools in the greater Chicago area.  As a result of their tireless labor, within a year the average attendance at Moody's own school was 650, with 60 volunteers from various churches serving as teachers. It became so well known that the just-elected [[Abraham Lincoln|President Lincoln]] visited and spoke at a Sunday school meeting on November 25, 1860.
 +
On the question of slavery, Moody himself was an ardent [[abolitionist]].
  
After the [[American Civil War|Civil War]] started, he was involved with the U.S. Christian Commission of the [[YMCA]], and paid nine visits to the battle-front, being present among the Union soldiers after the conflicts of [[Battle of Shiloh|Shiloh]], Pittsburgh Landing, and [[Battle of Stones River|Murfreesboro]], and ultimately entered Richmond with the army of [[Ulysses S. Grant|General Grant]]. On the question of slavery, Moody himself was an ardent [[abolitionist]].
+
After the [[American Civil War|Civil War]] started, he was involved with the U.S. Christian Commission of the [[YMCA]], and paid nine visits to the battle-front, being present among the Union soldiers after the conflicts of [[Battle of Shiloh|Shiloh]], Pittsburgh Landing, and [[Battle of Stones River|Murfreesboro]], and ultimately entered Richmond with the army of [[Ulysses S. Grant|General Grant]].
  
 
The growing Sunday school congregation needed a permanent home, so Moody started a church in Chicago, the Illinois Street Church.  
 
The growing Sunday school congregation needed a permanent home, so Moody started a church in Chicago, the Illinois Street Church.  

Revision as of 20:21, 25 September 2007


Dwight Lyman Moody
Dwight Lyman Moody c.1900.jpg
Preacher , evangelist and publisher
BornFebruary 5, 1837
Northfield, Massachusetts
DiedDecember 22, 1899

Dwight Lyman Moody (February 5, 1837 - December 22, 1899), also known as D.L. Moody, was an American evangelist and publisher who founded the Moody Church, Northfield School and Mount Hermon School in Massachusetts (now the Northfield Mount Hermon School), the Moody Bible Institute and Moody Publishers.

Early life

Dwight Moody was born in the village of East Northfield, Massachusetts to a large family. His father, Edwin Moody, a small farmer and stone mason, died at the age of 41 when Dwight was but four years old. At that time, he had five older brothers and a younger sister, with an additional twin brother and sister born one month after his father's death. His mother, Betsy (nee Holton) struggled to support the family, yet despite her best efforts, some of the children had to be sent off to work, including Dwight. During this difficult time, however, she continued to send them to church. Together with his eight siblings Dwight was raised in the Unitarian church.

When Moody turned 16, he moved to Boston to work in his uncle's shoe store. One of his uncle's requirements was that Moody attend the Congregational Church of Mount Vernon where Dr. Edward Norris Kirk was pastor. It was at this time, in April 1855, that Dwight Moody converted to evangelical Christianity.

Chicago and the Civil War

Moody moved to Chicago, Illinois in September, 1856, where he joined the Plymouth Congregational Church, and began to take an active part in the prayer meetings. In the spring of 1857, he began to minister to the welfare of the sailors in Chicago's port, then gamblers and thieves in the saloons.

Along with Mr. J. B. Stillson, a business man, who was employing his spare time in the same Sunday school missionary work, he "recruited" or taught in hundreds of Sunday schools in the greater Chicago area. As a result of their tireless labor, within a year the average attendance at Moody's own school was 650, with 60 volunteers from various churches serving as teachers. It became so well known that the just-elected President Lincoln visited and spoke at a Sunday school meeting on November 25, 1860. On the question of slavery, Moody himself was an ardent abolitionist.

After the Civil War started, he was involved with the U.S. Christian Commission of the YMCA, and paid nine visits to the battle-front, being present among the Union soldiers after the conflicts of Shiloh, Pittsburgh Landing, and Murfreesboro, and ultimately entered Richmond with the army of General Grant.

The growing Sunday school congregation needed a permanent home, so Moody started a church in Chicago, the Illinois Street Church.

In June 1871, Moody met Ira D. Sankey, the Gospel singer, with whom he soon partnered. (A few years later, in 1875, together they would publish the popular Gospel Hymns). In October of 1871, Sankey and Moody were in the middle of a revival meeting when the Great Chicago Fire broke out. The two men, along with those assembled, barely escaped the conflagration. The fire however, destroyed Moody's church, home, and the dwellings of most of his members. His family had to flee for their lives. His church was rebuilt within three months at a nearby location and renamed as the Chicago Avenue Church.

In the years after the fire, Moody's wealthy Chicago supporter J.A. Farwell attempted to persuade him to make his permanent home in Chicago, offering to build Moody and his family a new house. But the now-famous Moody, also sought by supporters in New York, Philadelphia and elsewhere, chose the tranquil farm he had purchased next door to his birthplace in Northfield, MA. Northfield became an important location in evangelical Christian history in the late 19th century as Moody organized summer conferences which were led and attended by prominent Christian preachers and evangelists from around the world. It was also in Northfield where Moody founded three schools which later merged into today's Northfield Mount Hermon School.

Marriage and Family

On August 28, 1862, he married Miss Emma C. Revell, with whom he would later have a daughter Emma Reynolds, and two sons, William Revell and Paul Dwight.

England

The trip to England in the spring of 1872 would cement Dwight L. Moody's reputation as a world-renowned evangelist. He preached almost a hundred times and it was there that he came into communion with the Plymouth Brethren. His preaching had an impact as great as that of George Whitefield and John Wesley within Britain, Scotland and Ireland. On several occasions he filled stadiums of 2,000 to 4,000 capacity. A meeting at the Botanic Gardens Palace, had between 15,000 to 30,000 people.

Such great turnouts continued throughout 1874 and 1875, with crowds of thousands at all of his meetings. During his visit to Scotland he was helped and encouraged by Andrew A. Bonar. The famous London Baptist preacher, Charles Spurgeon invited him to speak and promoted him as well. When he returned to the United States, crowds of 12,000 to 20,000 became just as common as they were in England. President Grant and some of his cabinet attended a meeting on January 19, 1876. His evangelistic meetings were held from Boston to New York, throughout New England and as far as San Francisco, and other West coast towns from Vancouver to San Diego.

Moody greatly believed in the work of cross-cultural and world evangelism. He actively supported the China Inland Mission and encouraged many within his congregation to volunteer for service overseas. He also actively promoted "The Wordless Book," a teaching tool that had been invented by Charles Spurgeon in 1866. In 1875 he added a fourth color to the design of the three-color evangelistic device: gold - to "represent heaven." This book has been and is still used to teach uncounted thousands of illiterate people - young and old - around the globe about the Gospel message.[1]

Missionary preaching in China using Moody's version of The Wordless Book

In 1883, Ira D. Sankey and he visited Edinburgh and raised £10,000 for the building of a new home for the Carrubbers Close Mission. Moody later preached at the laying of the foundation stone for what is one of the few buildings on the Royal Mile which continues to be used for its original purpose and is now called the Carrubbers Christian Centre.

Death

He preached his last sermon on November 16, 1899 in Kansas City, KS. Becoming ill, he returned home by train to Northfield. During the preceding several months, friends had observed he had added some 30 pounds to his already ample frame. Although his illness was never diagnosed, it has been speculated that he suffered congestive heart failure. He died on December 22, surrounded by family. Already installed by Moody as leader of his Chicago Bible Institute, R. A. Torrey succeeded Moody as its president. Ten years after his death, the Chicago Avenue Church was renamed The Moody Church in his honor, and the Chicago Bible Institute was likewise renamed Moody Bible Institute.

Legacy

The view of Dwight L. Moody and other post-Civil War period premillennial revivalists that only the cataclysm of Christ's Second Coming could bring about the millennium is widely held to this day, especially in fundamentalist and evangelical Christian circles. Moody, differed particularly from Charles Grandison Finney, a contemporary evangelist of the era (and others) who believed and preached a more optimistic view that one day wars would cease and peace would reign on earth. In the wake of his many words and deeds he also left behind The Moody Bible Institute.

Quotes

"A good example is far better than a good precept."


"A man ought to live so that everybody knows he is a Christian... and most of all, his family ought to know."


"Faith makes all things possible... love makes all things easy."


"God never made a promise that was too good to be true."


"If I take care of my character, my reputation will take care of me."


"The Bible will keep you from sin, or sin will keep you from the Bible."


"We talk about heaven being so far away. It is within speaking distance to those who belong there. Heaven is a prepared place for a prepared people."


"Where one man reads the Bible, a hundred read you and me."

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

  • Moody, Dwight L. Heaven. Diggory Press. ISBN 978-1846858123
  • ______________. Prevailing Prayer - What Hinders it? Diggory Press. ISBN 978-1846858031
  • ______________. Secret Power. Diggory Press. ISBN 978-1846858024
  • ______________. On The Ten Commandments. ISBN 978-0802417787
  • Hanson, J. W. and Thomas, H. W. The Life and Works of the World's Greatest Evangelist Dwight L. Moody. Kessinger Publishing (June 30, 2005). ISBN 978-0766198609
  • Austin, Alvyn. China’s Millions: The China Inland Mission and Late Qing Society. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company (March 5, 2007) ISBN 978-0802829757

Notes

  1. Austin (2007), 1-10

External links

See also

Horatio Spafford - Spafford, a friend of Moody, wrote the words to the hymn "It Is Well With My Soul"

Credits

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