Indiana daily times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1914-1922, 1921-12-09

to let Him know it. Political parties at
conventions yell themselves hoarse when
nominee is mentioned. Why not shout
/ in ecstacy when the name Of the Lord is
called?
/ II you are happy, let the whole world
know 1t. Don't keep your Joy bottled
up. Show pep! Lift up your voice Work
/ your arms shake your shoulders, and
shuttle your feetl
! On with the holy dance and save your
soull
+ Such, in short, seems to be the sub
stance Of the Pillar of Fire faith. Radi-
/ cal, no doubt, but effective, judging from
the rapid growth Of this unconventional
sect, not only in the United States but
+ in other parts Of the world. Strange in
more ways than one is this new Christian
faith; for its leader is Of the so-called
/ gentler sex, Mrs. Alma White, and she
! bears the distinction Of being the only
woman in the world who Is privileged to
prefix her name with the title bishop.
CHILDHOOD SPENT
IN KENTUCKY HILLS.
/ Her rise from childhood on a poor little
( farm in the hills of Kentucky to founder
of the Pillar Of Fire Church and only
woman bishop" is indeed phenomenal
and a most interesting story.
Perhaps no person in the public eye
today has come up through harder
knocks 10 a stage of apparent success
in life than she. Born in a large family
whose meager fortune led its children
continually through the straits Of pow
erty, she has known what it is to struggle
for an existence.
! Her father, William Moncure Eridwell,
was Of Virginia stock and had moved
3
and later engaged In the tanning bust
ness with the father and brother OF L.
/ S. Grant He married Mary Ann Harri-
+ son Of Irish and English descent, and
reared eleven children. Mollie Alma was
the seventh child and one of seven sisters.
William and Mary Bridweu were de-
| termined, in as far as it was possible,
/ to give their children what education the
/ schools Of that day could afford them,
/ but il was little Almas Ill fortune TO be
| considered the dullest one OF the family,
and she was most OF the time Kept AT
/ home when the other children were sent
! to school, not only because she was great
/ IL needed to help with the work both in
/ the house and on the farm, but also be-
! cause the money could be more advan-
| tageously spent in the education Of her
/ brothers and sisters, it was thought.
Alma took this as a great hardship,
as she had a strong desire for an educa-
ton. Finally, however, she was enabled
I to 60 to school for a short time, and
| though affected with abnormal bashful-
ness, to the surprise Of her friends and
I the chagrin Of her sisters, made enYiaDle
| progress. When she was about IL years
/ of age she received a high grade certia-
/ cate to teach in the public schools and q
/ few months later the family moved from
/ Kinnikinnick, Lewis County, Kentucky.
! 20 bourbon County, where she entered
/ the NIillerSburg Female College.
ENGAGES IN MISSIONARY
WORK IN MONTANA
! At the age OF 10, Miss Bridwell re-
| ceived an invitation from an aunt living
in what was then the wilds of Montana
| Territory to visit her on more or less
protracted stay. By the strange irony
of fate, the aunt, on giving her the inyi-
tation. had made a last resort to the
one girl of all the sisters whom she
/ liked the least; the one, in fact, for whom
she confessed positive dislike. The other
sisters. being afraid and unwilling to
venture out into the land Of Jesse James
/ cowboys and Indians, had one after an
other refused to go.
| What would she do? 1t was one OF
the great crises Of her life. Character
tstic of what proved In later years to be
/ Alma determined to accept the invita-
tion. and three months previous to her
twentieth birthday started on her LONG
tourney. Breaking of home ties was by
no means easy. The hardest person to
leave was her mother. But Alma had
that something in her that takes the
step She had been converted at the age
| Of 16- and while not at all Turing, the
wild west appealed to her as q great
missionary field.
1t was a day long to be remembered
when, alone and full Of misgiyings
| she started on her great and seemingly
dangerous adventure.
Having arrived safely in Montans
which had not then been admitted as
state Miss Bridwe1 began to teact
! school at Bannack City, and thereafter
for several years followed that profession
also being missionary work as time and
opportunity afforded, in the meantime
sending home most of her wages for the
education of her younger brothers and
sisters. The story of her life during
these years reads like novel Teaching
school in the wild west In those days
with the outlawry, daredeviItry, anc
barbarism was no easy vocation, bat the
young woman made q great success OF II
and proved herself able to manage
| pupils where other teachers had hopeless
I~ly failed. Indians who were not always
friendly often camped in close proximity
to the scho, house, where there was nc
! human protection except that of th'
| larger rupils.
In 1887 she married Kent White, al
! Denver, Colo, who was then a ministerial
| student in Methodist university
Previous to her marriage. Miss Bridwel
was employed for a year by the Woman''
Home Missionary Society to teach schoo
| in a Methodist seminary in Salt Lake
| City. Later, as a minister's wife, she
began to take active interest in pastoral
work and despite the fact that the Meth
odist Church gave no official reco gnition
| to woman's ministry, occupied her hus'
! bands pulpit occasionally herself. She
| devoted considerable time to revival
| work.
| ESTABLISHES MISSIONS OF
INDEPENDENT CHARACTER.
1t was not long before she proved t.
! be a powerful teacher and such success
| attended her efforts that she soon
/ aroused NOT ouIv grant interest but aISn