The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1899-12-31
The Rise of Dwight L, Moody


located there. and when the breakdown
came at Kansas City a few weeks a@o
ne hurried home TO Mortified 10 die. Tie
attachment for the little town was form
ed many years ago, when Mr.. Moody
as a boy ran barefoot and hungry about
the town TO help his widowed mother
support himself and his eight small
brothers and sisters. Years afterward ne
established his own family there, and II
was TO Mortified he always returned
after his revival seasons.
Mr.. Moody went away 10 Boston when
he was II years old and began work as
clerk in shoe store He was given the
place on condition that he would go reg
uIarly to church and Sunday school This
was in line with what ne always had
done at home and was no hardship. but
Mr. Moody in after years always told OF
his first months in Boston as If he had
not been possessed OF soul. From his
standpoint the Eight did not come TO
him until one day. after a call at the
shoe store by his Sunday school teacher,
he was converted
A few months after this, in 1856, Mr..
Moody went TO Chicago. He found a
place as clerk in Henderson's shoe store,
ioined the Plymouth Congregational
church. and began his religious work. He
had an ambition to become an exhOrter,
but his speeches were so crude that his
feuow-church members discouraged the
idea and advised him to keep silent. He
then volunteered as q teacher IN city
mission, but he knew so little about the
Bible that the mission officials refused 10
give him a class and forced him to fetch
one in from the streets.
BY and by he set up mission for MINI,
self, as he got little encouragement from
Ill -
hired an empty and tumble-down hotel
building on the North Side, among the
bld-time slums. and gathered in all the
dirty and ragged children in the neighbour
hood for his SUNDAY services. He paid
the rent out Of his salary as a shoe clsrk
and what little help he received from his
friends When he could not get his con-
gregations together in any other way he
bribed them with maple sugar and candy
Mr. Moody had little education, and but
few children took any interest IN his
talks. They were crude, even for the
slums,
In the meantime Mr.. Moody was pro-
NOTED to travelling salesman, but he al
ways managed to reach Chicago on Sun
day to conduct his mission. Finally John
V. Farwell became interested, gave him
the use of North Market Hall. and Mr..
Moody. whose preaching ability constantly
improved, located his mission there. The
hall always was used for dancing on Sat
urday nights, and Mr.. Moody used to
come down early on Sunday morning and
sweep out.
After he had been In Chicago four years
Mr. Moody decided 70 give up selling
shoes and devote his time TO his mission.
AS he could find no one to pay him sal
airy, he slept on a bench in the rooms Of
the Y. NJ. c. A. which he had helned
organize and ate at the Decent restau-
rants Before long his friends came 10
his aid with contributions. and on the
strength Of this increased pay he married
two years later, Miss Emma c. Revell of
Chicago Many times after his marriage
Mr. Moody was forced TO borrow both
food and money from his friends.
Mr. Moody's mission continued to grow,
however. in spite of poverty. In 1853 a
$4,000 church was erected in Illinois
street. and the congregation soon num-
bered nearly a thousand. When the
young Mems Christian association began
the agitation for it's first building Mr.
MOODY was elected president, and it was
largely through his efforts and the imam
cial support of John V. FarweH that Cd
Farweu Hall was built.
Farweu Hall was closely linked with
Mr. Moody's name until after the IRE
of 1871 The night Of the great fire Mr..
Moody was preaching there, and was
forced to fee with his congregation
through the La Sale street tunnel With
in three months he had erected huge
frame tabernacle and resumed his serv-
ices.
During the years when Mr. Moody vas
acquiring his reputation as great
preacher there was one interruption. Mr..
Moody went to the war. He did not en-
list as a soldier but went 10 the prisons
and worked on the battlefields. He was
with the army in the Chattanooga cam
pafgn. was one Of the first 70 enter Rich
nond, and his experiences served him al
forwards for numberless themes for his
sermons. In the same way he became
interested in the Spanish war, visiting
the camps and addressing the soldiers be-
fore the invasion Of Cuba began. He
would have followed the army TO Cuba
If his physician had not forbidden.
All through his career Mr.. Moody's ser
mons and speeches were characteristic.
Mr. Moody never lacked for a story OF
an idea His sermons were in realty
series OF anecdotes and stories, mixed
with appeals in such way that In near
ing them people never stopped 10 inquire
about logical sequence He was fond o.
bringing strange objects into his meetings
to serve as texts During his last great
revival in Chicago. held two years ago
al the Auditorium. he appeared one morn
ing with a tea cup and pitcher OF wa
ter and preached on them one OF tae
most eloquent sermons OF his HE. lie
was one OF the few men who never han
n stop 10 think what they were going 20
sav next His ideas seemed 20 come =
him without effort. and apparently ne
never had TO exert much efort IN cho9s-
ing. His illustrations always were ant
and he would preach day after day with
out repeating story or using an mus
trstf0n a second time.
Mr. Noody's eiOquence served him IN
raising thousands Of dollars. i was bis
boast that he had given away over x
600 COO since he first went 70 Chicago. The
bu.k Of the money derived from SUD
errfatfons and from sales Of his books
vent 20 support his Bible school - North
field and the Chicago Bible Institute.
The Mortified Seminary was built -
Mr.. Moods monument When ~ came
back from MS great revival tour tnr232h
England IN Js.5. he purchased 81 n
house - Mortified and began MS school
I--Aeva The Dro0ts from his books were
All fu-usd into the schoo.. He 57asted
nat ne saved nothing for himself. Hand
d zo,,a r..ifIsiu-s were erected and depart
-7s-t after department ssfed Until e -
raue the greatest Bible school n
America
when ne founded TIRE school tire Hi7Ie
vas ere only text book AfterEarcs oh
- branches were added 70 the course
- scientific ard a classical school were
added. The girls seminary. Tnacn was
founded two years before M AoodF p2f-
-pseaa ire farmhouse. now 1a7 AZ a.
..-sa-ra q 80. and a1u-;ca'i71s 2-s O.
a. - +wo % three years l1 ADVANCE
ar Nfo-Ey finally md 20 eTect big -
- ~ care for the patrons - f5e school
SOC e vas ezts 5ifshed neariy foTtF large
+ l..s-sf~-s have been erected. Egrr7l--sfii <