Dwight L. Moody

==Early life==
Dwight Moody was born in [[Northfield, Massachusetts]], as the seventh child of a large family. His father, Edwin J. Moody (1800–1841), was a small farmer and stonemason. His mother was Betsey Moody (née Holton; 1805–1896). They had five sons and a daughter before Dwight's birth. His father died when Dwight was age four; fraternal twins, a boy, and a girl were born one month after the father's death. Their mother struggled to support the nine children but had to send some off to work for their room and board. Dwight too was sent off, where he received cornmeal, porridge, and milk three times a day.<ref name=Johnson>{{cite book |last=Johnson |first=George |title=What Will A Man Give In Exchange For His Soul? |year=2011 |publisher=Xlibris Corporation |isbn=978-1465380982 |pages=113–115}}</ref> He complained to his mother, but when she learned that he was getting all he wanted to eat, she sent him back. During this time, she continued to send the children to church. Together with his eight siblings, Dwight was raised in the [[Unitarianism|Unitarian church]]. His oldest brother ran away and was not heard from by the family until many years later.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JmuuMa2uVTYC&q=His%20oldest%20brother%20ran%20away%20and%20was%20not%20heard%20from%20by%20the%20family%20until%20many%20years%20later&pg=PA113 |title=What Will A Man Give In Exchange For His Soul? |first=George D. |last=Johnson |date=October 26, 2011 |publisher=Xlibris Corporation |isbn=9781465380982}}</ref>

When Moody turned 17, he moved to [[Boston]] to work (after receiving many job rejections locally) in an uncle's shoe store. One of the uncle's requirements was that Moody attend the [[Mount Vernon Church, Boston|Congregational Church of Mount Vernon]], where [[Edward Norris Kirk|Dr. Edward Norris Kirk]] served as the pastor. In April 1855 Moody was converted to [[evangelical]] Christianity when his Sunday school teacher, [[Edward Kimball (Sunday School teacher)|Edward Kimball]], talked to him about how much God loved him. His conversion sparked the start of his career as an evangelist. Moody first applied to the church in May 1855, but he was not received as a church member until May 4, 1856.

According to Moody's memoir, his teacher, Edward Kimball, said:

{{blockquote|I can truly say, and in saying it I magnify the infinite grace of God as bestowed upon him, that I have seen few persons whose minds were spiritually darker than was his when he came into my [[Sunday School]] class; and I think that the committee of the Mount Vernon Church seldom met an applicant for membership more unlikely ever to become a Christian of clear and decided views of Gospel truth, still less to fill any extended sphere of public usefulness.<ref>Moody (1900), 21</ref>}}