Dwight L. Moody

{{Short description|American evangelist (1837–1899)}}
{{Use American English|date=May 2023}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox person
| image       = Dwight Lyman Moody c.1900.jpg
| caption     = Moody, {{circa|1900}}
| birth_name  = Dwight Lyman Moody
| birth_date  = {{birth date|1837|02|05}}
| birth_place = [[Northfield, Massachusetts]], U.S.
| death_date  = {{death date and age|1899|12|26|1837|2|5}}
| death_place = Northfield, Massachusetts, U.S.
| spouse      = {{marriage|Emma C. Revell|1862}}
| children    = 3, including [[Paul Dwight Moody]]
| signature   = Signature of Dwight Lyman Moody (1837–1899).png
}}
[[File: Plaque on Site of the conversion of Dwight Moody in Boston Massachusetts MA USA on Court Street.jpg|thumb|right|Plaque commemorating the spot on Court Street in Boston where Dwight Moody was converted in 1855 by [[Edward Kimball (Sunday School teacher)|Edward Kimball]] in 1855]]

'''Dwight Lyman Moody''' (February 5, 1837 – December 26, 1899), also known as '''D.&nbsp;L. Moody''', was an American [[evangelism|evangelist]] and publisher connected with [[Keswickianism]], who founded the [[Moody Church]], Northfield School and Mount Hermon School in Massachusetts (now [[Northfield Mount Hermon School]]), [[Moody Bible Institute]], and [[Moody Publishers]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hayford |first1=Jack W. |last2=Moore |first2=S. David |title=The Charismatic Century: The Enduring Impact of the Azusa Street Revival |date=June 27, 2009 |publisher=FaithWords |isbn=978-0-446-56235-5 |language=en |quote=Evangelist D.L. Moody was a proponent of the Keswick movement along with others, including Hannah Whitall Smith, whose book ''A Christian's Secret of a Happy Life'' is still read today by thousands. R.A. Torrey, an associate of Moody whose influence was rapidly increasing, championed Keswick's ideals and utilized the term "Baptism of the Holy Spirit" in reference to the experience.}}</ref> One of his most famous quotes was "Faith makes all things possible... Love makes all things easy." Moody gave up his lucrative boot and shoe business to devote his life to [[Christian revival|revivalism]], working first in the Civil War with Union troops through YMCA in the United States Christian Commission. In Chicago, he built one of the major evangelical centers in the nation, which is still active. Working with singer [[Ira Sankey]], he toured the country and the British Isles, drawing large crowds with a dynamic speaking style.

==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>}}

==Civil War==
[[File: Portrait of Dwight Lyman Moody (4669848).jpg|thumb|upright|Dwight Lyman Moody {{Circa|1870}}]]
{{Blockquote|The first meeting I ever saw him at was in a little old shanty that had been abandoned by a saloon-keeper. Mr. Moody had got the place to hold the meetings at night. I went there a little late; and the first thing I saw was a man standing up with a few tallow candles around him, holding a negro boy, and trying to read to him the story of the Prodigal Son and a great many words he could not readout, and had to skip. I thought, 'If the Lord can ever use such an instrument as that for His honor and glory, it will astonish me.' As a result of his tireless labor, within a year the average attendance at his school<!-- What school? --> was 650, while 60 volunteers from various churches served 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.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JmuuMa2uVTYC&q=It+became+so+well+known+that+the+just-elected+President+Lincoln+visited+and+spoke+at+a+Sunday+School+meeting+on+November+25,+1860&pg=PA114 |title=What Will A Man Give In Exchange For His Soul? |first=George D. |last=Johnson |date=26 October 2011 |publisher=Xlibris |isbn=9781465380982}}</ref>}}

D. L. Moody "could not conscientiously enlist" in the Union Army during the Civil War, later describing himself as "a [[Quaker]]" in this respect.<ref>Donald W. Dayton, ''Discovering an Evangelical Heritage'' (New York: Harper & Row, 1976), 134.</ref> After the [[American Civil War|Civil War]] started, he became involved with the [[United States Christian Commission]] of [[YMCA]]. He paid nine visits to the battlefront, being present among the Union soldiers after the [[Battle of Shiloh]] (a.k.a. [[Pittsburg Landing]]) and the [[Battle of Stones River]]; he also entered [[Richmond, Virginia]], with the troops of [[Ulysses S. Grant|General Grant]].

On August 28, 1862, Moody married Emma C. Revell, with whom he had a daughter, Emma Reynolds Moody, and two sons, William Revell Moody and [[Paul Dwight Moody]].

==Chicago and the postwar years==
[[File: Will it pay? D.L. Moody and J.V. Farwell's first Sunday school class, North Market Hall, Chicago, Ill. - - Ruehlow. LCCN2006678632.tif|thumb|Moody's first Sunday school class, North Market Hall, Chicago, 1876]]

In 1858, he started a Sunday school. <ref> Erwin Fahlbusch, Geoffrey William Bromiley, ''The Encyclopedia of Christianity, Volume 3'', Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, USA, 2003, p. 641 </ref>

The growing Sunday School congregation needed a permanent home, so Moody started a church in Chicago, the [[Illinois Street Church]] in 1864.<ref>{{cite web |author1=Billy Graham Center Archives |title=Select List of Events From Moody Church History |website=Records of The Moody Church - Collection 330 |publisher=Wheaton College |location=Wheaton, IL |url=http://www2.wheaton.edu/bgc/archives/GUIDES/330.htm#501 |access-date=April 5, 2016}}</ref>

In June 1871 at an International Sunday School Convention in [[Indianapolis]], Indiana, Dwight Moody met [[Ira D. Sankey]]. He was a gospel singer, with whom Moody soon began to cooperate and collaborate.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8iL6CQAAQBAJ&q=Moody%20met%20Ira%20D.%20Sankey,%20up%20to%20then%20a%20single-gospel-singer&pg=PA94 |title=Christian Worship: A Theological and Historical Introduction |first=Glen |last=OBrien |date=June 1, 2015 |publisher=Wipf and Stock Publishers |isbn=9781498231350}}</ref>
Four months later, in October 1871, the [[Great Chicago Fire]] destroyed Moody's church building, as well as his house and those of most of his congregation. Many had to flee the flames, saving only their lives, and ending up completely destitute. Moody, reporting on the disaster, said about his own situation that: "...{{nbsp}}he saved nothing but his reputation and his Bible."<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JmuuMa2uVTYC&q=he%20saved%20nothing%20but%20his%20reputation%20and%20his%20Bible&pg=PA114 |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>

In the years after the fire, Moody's wealthy Chicago patron [[John V. Farwell]] tried to persuade him to make his permanent home in the city, offering to build a new house for Moody and his family. But the newly famous Moody, also sought by supporters in New York, Philadelphia, and elsewhere, chose a tranquil farm he had purchased near his birthplace in [[Northfield, Massachusetts]]. He felt he could better recover in a rural setting from his lengthy preaching trips.<ref name=Johnson/>

Northfield became an important location in evangelical Christian history in the late 19th century as Moody organized summer conferences. These were led and attended by prominent Christian preachers and evangelists from around the world. Western Massachusetts has had a rich evangelical tradition including [[Jonathan Edwards (theologian)|Jonathan Edwards]] preaching in colonial Northampton and [[C.I. Scofield]] preaching in Northfield. A protégé of Moody founded Moores Corner Church, in [[Leverett, Massachusetts]].

Moody founded two schools here: Northfield School for Girls, founded in 1879, and the Mount Hermon School for Boys, founded in 1881. In the late 20th century, these merged, forming today's co-educational, nondenominational [[Northfield Mount Hermon]] School.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nmhschool.org/about-nmh-history |title=NMH's History - Northfield Mount Hermon |access-date=October 6, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161009141407/https://www.nmhschool.org/about-nmh-history |archive-date=October 9, 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Evangelistic travels===
[[File: Dwight Lyman Moody Vanity Fair 3 April 1875.jpg|thumb|left|Dwight Lyman Moody, ''[[Vanity Fair (UK magazine)|Vanity Fair]]'', April 3, 1875]]

During a trip to the United Kingdom in the spring of 1872, Moody became well known as an evangelist. Literary works published by the [[Moody Bible Institute]] claim that he was the greatest evangelist of the 19th century.<ref name=Bailey>{{cite book |last=Bailey |first=Faith |title=D. L Moody |orig-year=1959 |year=1987 |publisher=The Moody Bible Institute of Chicago |isbn=0-8024-0039-6 |page=Cover}}</ref><!-- On what scale of criteria? --> He preached almost a hundred times and came into communion with the [[Plymouth Brethren]]. On several occasions, he filled stadia of a capacity of 2,000 to 4,000. According to his memoir, in the Botanic Gardens Palace, he attracted an audience estimated at between 15,000 and 30,000.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Johnson |first1=George D. |title=What Will A Man Give In Exchange For His Soul? |date=October 26, 2011 |publisher=Xlibris Corporation |isbn=9781465380982 |page=115 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JmuuMa2uVTYC |language=en}}</ref>

That turnout continued throughout 1874 and 1875, with crowds of thousands at all of his meetings. During his visit to Scotland, Moody was helped and encouraged by [[Andrew A. Bonar]]. The famous London Baptist preacher, [[Charles Spurgeon]], invited him to speak, and he promoted the American as well. When Moody returned to the US, he was said to frequently attract crowds of 12,000 to 20,000 were as common as they had been in England.<ref name="worthychristianlibrary.com">{{cite news |url=http://www.worthychristianlibrary.com/dl-moody/ |title=D.L. Moody - |newspaper=Worthy Christian Books |publisher=Worthy Christian Library}}</ref> President [[Ulysses S. Grant|Grant]] and some of his cabinet officials attended a Moody meeting on January 19, 1876. He held evangelistic meetings from Boston to New York, throughout New England, and as far west as San Francisco, also visiting other West Coast towns from [[Vancouver, British Columbia]], Canada to [[San Diego]].<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=anpF-BdAEFQC&q=moody%20evangelistic%20meetings%20took%20place%20from%20Boston%20to%20New%20York&pg=PA315 |title=The Life of Dwight L. Moody |first=William Revell |last=Moody |date=June 1, 2001 |publisher=The Minerva Group, Inc. |isbn=9781589632752}}</ref>

Moody aided the work of cross-cultural evangelism by promoting "[[The Wordless Book]]", a teaching tool developed in 1866 by [[Charles Spurgeon]]. In 1875, Moody 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.<ref>Austin (2007), 1-10</ref>
[[File:Open Air Preaching WB.jpg|thumb|Missionary preaching in China using Moody's version of ''[[The Wordless Book]]'']]

Moody visited Britain with [[Ira D. Sankey]], with Moody preaching and Sankey singing at meetings. Together they published books of Christian [[hymn]]s. In 1883, they 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 now called the [[Carrubbers Christian Centre]], one of the few buildings on the [[Royal Mile]] which continues to be used for its original purpose.<ref name="worthychristianlibrary.com"/>

Moody greatly influenced the cause of cross-cultural [[Christian mission]]s after he met [[Hudson Taylor]], a pioneer missionary to China. He actively supported the [[China Inland Mission]] and encouraged many of his congregation to volunteer for service overseas.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JmuuMa2uVTYC&q=China%20Inland%20Mission%20and%20encouraged%20many%20of%20his%20congregation%20to%20volunteer%20for%20service%20overseas&pg=PA116 |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>

===International acclaim===
His influence was felt among Swedes. Being of English heritage, never visiting Sweden or any other Scandinavian country, and never speaking a word of Swedish, nonetheless, he became a hero revivalist among Swedish [[Mission Friends]] ({{Lang|sv|Missionsvänner}}) in Sweden and America.<ref>Gustafson (2008)</ref>

News of Moody's large revival campaigns in Great Britain from 1873 through 1875 traveled quickly to Sweden, making "Mr. Moody" a household name in homes of many Mission Friends. Moody's sermons published in Sweden were distributed in books, newspapers, and [[colportage|colporteur]] tracts, and they led to the spread of Sweden's "Moody fever" from 1875 through 1880.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JmuuMa2uVTYC&q=Moody%E2%80%99s%20sermons%20published%20in%20Sweden%20were%20distributed%20in%20books&pg=PA116 |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>

He preached his last sermon on November 16, 1899, in [[Kansas City, Missouri]]. Becoming ill, he returned home by train to Northfield. During the preceding several months, friends had observed he had added some {{convert|30|lb}} to his already ample frame. Although his illness was never diagnosed, it has been speculated that he suffered from congestive heart failure. He died on December 26, 1899, surrounded by his family. Already installed as the leader of his Chicago Bible Institute, [[Reuben Archer Torrey|R. A. Torrey]] succeeded Moody as its pastor.

==Legacy==
Religious historian James Findlay says that:
: Speaking before thousands in the dark business suit, bearded, rotund Dwight L. Moody seemed the epitome of the "businessman in clerical garb" who typified popular religion in late 19th-century America... Earthy, unlettered, a dynamo of energy, the revivalist was very much a man of his times... Moody adapted [[Christian revival|revivalism]], one of the major institutions of evangelical Protestantism, to the urban context. ... His organizational ability, demonstrated in the great revivals he conducted in England, combined to fashion his spectacular career as the creator of modern mass revivalism.<ref>James F. Findlay, "Moody, Dwight Lyman," and John A. Garraty, ''Encyclopedia of American Biography'' (1974) pp 772-773.</ref>

Ten years after Moody's death the Chicago Avenue Church was renamed the [[Moody Church]] in his honor, and the Chicago Bible Institute has likewise renamed the [[Moody Bible Institute]].<ref>{{cite book |author=Timothy J. Demy and Paul R. Shockley |title=Evangelical America: An Encyclopedia of Contemporary American Religious Culture |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9YI2DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA286 |year=2017 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |pages=286–290 |isbn=9781610697743}}</ref>

[[Dwight D. Eisenhower]], who was born in 1890, was named after him. During World War II, the [[Liberty ship]] {{SS|Dwight L. Moody}} was built in [[Panama City, Florida]], and named in his honor.<ref>{{cite book |last=Williams |first=Greg H. |title=The Liberty Ships of World War II: A Record of the 2,710 Vessels and Their Builders, Operators and Namesakes, with a History of the Jeremiah O'Brien |date=July 25, 2014 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-1476617541 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A5oWBAAAQBAJ |access-date=December 7, 2017}}</ref> 

==Works==
*''Heaven'' Diggory Press {{ISBN|978-1-84685-812-3}}
*'' Prevailing Prayer—What Hinders it?'' Diggory Press {{ISBN|978-1-84685-803-1}}
*''Secret Power'' Diggory Press {{ISBN|978-1-84685-802-4}}
*''The Ten Commandments''<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fbinstitute.com/moody/The_TenCommandments_Text.html |title=THE TEN COMMANDMENTS text by D. L. Moody |access-date=September 19, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090409023323/http://www.fbinstitute.com/moody/The_TenCommandments_Text.html |archive-date=April 9, 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
*Also, A Life for Christ—What a Normal Christian Life Looks Like.
* ''The Way to God and How to Find it''

==See also==
{{Portal|Biography}}
*[[William Phillips Hall]], a close friend that was influenced to become an evangelist and lay preacher.
*[[Horatio Spafford]], a friend of Moody who wrote the words to the hymn ''It Is Well With My Soul''
*[[Northfield Mount Hermon School]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Sources==
* [http://www.christianitytoday.com/ch/131christians/evangelistsandapologists/moody.html "Dwight Moody: evangelist with a common touch"] ''Christianity Today'', August 8, 2008.
* [http://www.wholesomewords.org/biography/biomoody.html Christian Biography Resources]
* Dorsett, L. W., ''A Passion for Souls: The Life of D. L. Moody.'' (1997)
* Findlay, J. F. Jr., ''Dwight L. Moody: American Evangelist 1837–1899.'' (1969)
* Gundry, S. N., ''Love them in: The Proclamation Theology of D. L. Moody.'' (1976)
* Evensen, B. J., ''God's Man for Gilded Age: D. L. Moody and the Rise of Mass Evangelism.'' (2003)
* Gloege, Timothy, ''Guaranteed Pure: The Moody Bible Institute, Business, and the Making of Modern Evangelicalism'' (2017)
* Gustafson, David M., "D.L. Moody and the Swedish-American Evangelical Free." ''Swedish-American Historical Quarterly'' 55 (2004): 107–135. [http://www.academia.edu/download/40729858/D._L._Moody_and_the_Evangelical_Free.pdf online]{{dead link|date=July 2022|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}
* Hamilton, Michael S., "The Interdenominational Evangelicalism of D.L. Moody and the Problem of Fundamentalism" in Darren Dochuk et al. eds. ''American Evangelicalism: George Marsden and the State of American Religious History'' (2014) ch 11.
* {{cite book |last=Hummel |first=Daniel G. |title=The Rise and Fall of Dispensationalism: How the Evangelical Battle over the End Times Shaped a Nation |publisher=Eerdmans |year=2023 |location=Grand Rapids, MI |ISBN=978-0-802-87922-6}}
* Moody, Paul Dwight, ''The Shorter Life of D. L. Moody.'' (1900) [https://archive.org/details/lifedwightlmood00moodgoog/page/n25 <!-- pg=17 quote=Dwight Moody. --> online]
* Moody, W. R., ''The Life of Dwight L. Moody'' (1900)
* [[John Pollock (author)|Pollock, John]], ''Moody Without Sankey'' (1963)

==External links==
{{Commons category|Dwight Lyman Moody}}
{{Wikiquote}}
{{NSRW poster|Moody, Dwight Lyman|Dwight L. Moody}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20121213103337/http://www.moodyqc.org/d-l-moody-reads-the-beatitudes/ Recording of Moody reading the Beatitudes]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060909125551/http://sermondepository.com/DLMoody.htm Sample sermons by D. L. Moody]
* [http://www.anabaptists.org/tracts/moodywar.html "Shall I enter the Army?" Moody said, "No."]
* {{Gutenberg author|id=8911}}
* {{Librivox author|id=12004}}
* {{Internet Archive author |sname=Dwight Lyman Moody}}
** [https://archive.org/details/gladtidingscomp00moodgoog Glad Tidings, sermons by D. L. Moody]
** [https://archive.org/details/gospelawakening01remlgoog The Gospel Awakening, sermons by D. L. Moody]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120701114657/http://fundamentalbaptistsermons.net/Site6/EBOOKS/reading.htm books by D. L. Moody]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moody, Dwight L.}}
[[Category:1837 births]]
[[Category:1899 deaths]]
[[Category:19th-century American male writers]]
[[Category:19th-century American musicians]]
[[Category:19th-century American non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:19th-century American philanthropists]]
[[Category:19th-century evangelicals]]
[[Category:American Christian hymnwriters]]
[[Category:American Christian pacifists]]
[[Category:American Evangelical writers]]
[[Category:American evangelists]]
[[Category:American male non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:American religious writers]]
[[Category:American sermon writers]]
[[Category:Christian revivalists]]
[[Category:Founders of American schools and colleges]]
[[Category:Keswickianism]]
[[Category:Moody Bible Institute people]]
[[Category:People from Northfield, Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Songwriters from Massachusetts]]
[[Category:YMCA leaders]]