Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1900-04-26
MOODY'S GREAT STORY.
What Led Him to Give Up Business,
For Religion


Mr.. Dwight J.. Moody thus relates
how he came to give up what promised
to be successful business career and
devote all his time and energy to evan
gelisttc work:
'"Thc way God led me out Of businesi
into Christian work was as follows:
II had never lost sight of Jesus Christ
since the first night | met him in the
store in Boston. But for years | wa,
only a nominal Christian, really beiay.
ing that | could not work for God IA
one had ever asked me to do anything.
When | went to Chicago, hired five
pews in church and used TO go out 10
the street and pick up young men and
fill these pews. | never spoke to those
young men about their souls. That was
the work Of the elders, thought.
After working for some time like
that ! started a mission Sabbath school.
| thought Numbers were everything. and
SO ! worked for numbers When the at
tendance ran below 900. it troubled me,
and when it ran to 1,2OO or 800 | was
elated. Still none was converted. There
was no harvest.
"Taen God opened my eyes. There
was class OF young ladies in the school
who were without exception the most
frivolous set of girls | ever met. One
Sunday the teacher was i'll, and | took
that class. They laughed in my face,
and | felt like opening the door and tell
ing them all to get out and never come
back.
THAT week the teacher Of the class
came into the store whore | worked. He
was pale and looked very i'll.
what is the troubeF ! asked.
al have had another hemorrhage Of
my lungs. The doctor says | cannot live
on Lake Michigan, so l am going 10 New
York state. | suppose | am going home
to die He seemed greatly troubled. and
when | asked him the reason he replied:
We'll, l have never led any of my class
TO Christ. | really believe | have done
the girls more harm than good
81 had never heard any one talk like
that before, and it set me thinking. After
awhile | said; Suppose you go and tell
them how you feel. will 20 with you in
a carriage if you want to go He con-
sented. and we started out together. II
was one Of the best journeys ever had
on earth. We went to the house of one
of the girls. called for her, and the teach
was no laughing then. Tears stood in
her eyes before long, After he had ex-
planned the way of life be suggested that
we have prayer. He asked me to pray.
True. | had never done such n thing in
my life as to pray God to convert a
young lady there and then. But we
prayed, and God answered our prayer.
I'VE went 10 other houses He would
go up stairs and be all out of breath and
he would tell the girls what he had come
for. 1t wasn't long before they broke
down and sought salvation. When his
strength gave out, took him back 70 his
lodgings. The next day we went ont
again At the end Of ten days he came to
the store with his face literally shining
Mr.. Moody he said. the last one #
my class has yielded herself to Christ |
tell yOu we had a time of rejoicing. He
had to leave the next night, so | called
his class together that night for prayer
meeting, and there God kindlcd n fire in
my soul that has never gone OUT. The
height of my ambition had been to be a
successful merchant, and if | had known
that meeting was going to take that am
bition out OF me | might not have gone.
But how many times have thanked God
since for that meeting
he next evening | went to the depot
to say goodby to that teacher. Just be-
fore the train started one Of the class
came, and before long, without any pre-
arrangement, they were all there. What
a meeting that was. We tried to sing
but we broke down. The last we saw Of
that dying teacher he was standing on
the platform Of the car his finger point
ing upward, telling that class TO meet
him in heaven.
For some days after the greatest
struggle of my life took place, Should /
give up business and give myself to
Christian. work or should | not? | have
never regretted my choice, Oh, the lax.
ury of leading some one out Of the dark.
ness of this world into the glorious light
and liberty of the gospel" '-Northwes
ern Christian Advocate.