Smith Wigglesworth

{{Short description|British evangelist who was influential in the early history of Pentecostalism}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Smith Wigglesworth
| image              = Smith Wigglesworth preaching.jpg
| caption            = 
| birth_date         = {{birth date|1859|6|10|df=y}}
| birth_place        = [[Menston]], [[Yorkshire]], England
| occupation         = Plumber (initially)<br> [[Evangelism|Evangelist]]
| spouse             = Mary Jane Featherstone (m. 1882-1913; her death)
| children           = Alice, Seth, Harold, Ernest & George
| death_date         = {{death date and age|1947|3|12|1859|6|8|df=y}}
| death_place        = Glad Tidings Hall, [[Wakefield]], [[Yorkshire]], England
}}

'''Smith Wigglesworth''' (10 June 1859 – 12 March 1947) was a British evangelist who was influential in the early history of [[Pentecostalism]].

== Early life ==
Smith Wigglesworth was born on 10 June 1859<ref>West Yorkshire, England, ''Church of England Births and Baptisms'', 1813–1910</ref> in [[Menston]], [[Yorkshire]], England, to an impoverished family. As a small child, he worked in the fields pulling turnips alongside his mother; he also worked in factories to help provide for his family. He was illiterate as a child, being unschooled because of his labours.<ref>{{Cite book|title= God's Generals|last=Liardon|first= Roberts|date=1996|publisher= Whitaker House|isbn= 978-0-88368-944-8 |pages=197–99}}</ref>

Nominally a [[Methodist]], he became a [[born again Christian]] at the age of eight. His grandmother was a devout Methodist; his parents, John and Martha, took young Smith to Methodist and [[Anglican]] churches on regular occasions. He was confirmed by a Bishop in the Church of England, baptized by immersion in a Baptist church and had grounding in Bible teaching in the [[Plymouth Brethren]] while learning the plumbing trade as an apprentice from a man in the Brethren movement.<ref>{{Cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=Moqz-x9W_EUC|title=Smith Wigglesworth: The Secret of His Power|last=Hibbert|first=Albert|date=2009-04-15|publisher=Harrison House Publishers|isbn=978-1-57794977-0|page=109}}</ref>

Wigglesworth married Mary Jane "Polly" Featherstone on 4 December 1882 at St Peter's church, Bradford.<ref>{{cite web |title= Smith Wigglesworth |url= https://featherstone.one-name.net/getperson.php?personID=I14038&tree=3 |website=Featherstone One Name Study |access-date=27 December 2019}}</ref> At the time of their marriage, she was a preacher with the [[Salvation Army]] and had come to the attention of General [[William Booth]]. They had one daughter, Alice, and four sons, Seth, Harold, Ernest and George. Polly died in 1913.<ref>{{cite web | last = Bickle | first = Michael | work = Seeking his face |url= http://www.mklangl.com/wigglesworthrbio.html |title= Smith Wigglesworth Biography |access-date=2006-05-18 |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20060518010249/http://www.mklangl.com/wigglesworthrbio.html |archive-date=May 18, 2006}}.</ref> Their grandson, Leslie Wigglesworth, after more than 20 years as a missionary in the Congo, served as the president of the [[Elim Pentecostal Church]].

Wigglesworth learned to read after he married Polly; she taught him to read the Bible. He often stated that it was the only book he ever read, and did not permit newspapers in his home, preferring the Bible to be their only reading material.

Wigglesworth worked as a plumber, but he abandoned this trade because he was too busy for it after he started preaching. In 1907, Wigglesworth visited [[Alexander Boddy]] during the Sunderland Revival, and following a laying-on of hands from Alexander's wife, Mary Boddy, he experienced [[Baptism with the Holy Spirit]] and spoke in [[Speaking in tongues|tongues]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/smithwiggleswort00frod|url-access=registration|title=Smith Wigglesworth, Apostle of Faith|last= Frodsham|first=Stanley Howard|date= 1948|publisher=Gospel Publishing House|pages= [https://archive.org/details/smithwiggleswort00frod/page/44 44]–45}}</ref> He spoke at some of the [[Assemblies of God]] events in Great Britain. He also received ministerial credentials with the [[Assemblies of God]] in the United States, where he evangelized from 1924 to 1929.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Rodgers |first1=Darrin J |title=This Week in AG History – April 5, 1947 |url= https://news.ag.org/en/Features/This-Week-in-AG-History-April-5-1947 |website=AG: The Assemblies of God |access-date=5 December 2019}}</ref>

== Ministry ==
Wigglesworth believed that healing came through faith, and he was flexible in his approach. When he was forbidden to lay hands on audience members by the authorities in [[Sweden]], he preached for a "corporate healing", by which people laid hands on themselves. He also practiced anointing with oil, and the distribution of "prayer handkerchiefs" (one of which was sent to King [[George V]]). Wigglesworth sometimes attributed ill-health to [[demons]].<ref name=":0" />

Wigglesworth largely believed his ministerial success was due to his [[Baptism with the Holy Spirit]]. He said: ''"I want you to see that he that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifieth himself or builds himself up. We must be edified before we can edify the church. I cannot estimate what I, personally, owe to the Holy Ghost method of spiritual edification. I am here before you as one of the biggest conundrums in the world. There never was a weaker man on the platform. Language? None. Inability–full of it. All natural things in my life point exactly opposite to my being able to stand on the platform and preach the gospel. The secret is that the Holy Ghost came and brought this wonderful edification of the Spirit. I had been reading this Word continually as well as I could, but the Holy Ghost came and took hold of it, for the Holy Ghost is the breath of it, and He illuminated it to me."''<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://tithehacker.org/praying-in-the-spirit/|title=The Ultimate Guide to Praying in the Spirit (2018 Edition)|date=2018-02-25|work=Tithehacker.org|access-date=2018-08-04|language=en-US}}</ref>

[[File:Smith Wigglesworth praying for a sick woman.jpg|thumb|left|Smith Wigglesworth praying for a sick woman]]
Ministering at many churches throughout Yorkshire, often at Bethesda Church at [[Swallownest]] (on the outskirts of [[Sheffield]]), Wigglesworth claimed to have made many prophecies. He also had an international ministry. He ministered in the [[United States|U.S.]], [[Australia]], [[New Zealand]], [[South Africa]], [[Sweden]], the [[Pacific Islands]], [[India]], [[Ceylon]], and several countries in [[Europe]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://wigglesworth.born-again-christian.info/|title=Smith Wigglesworth Sermons Biography and Books|last=Melbourne|first=Colin|website=wigglesworth.born-again-christian.info|language=en|access-date=2018-01-25}}</ref> Some of his sermons were transcribed for Pentecostal magazines, and these were collected into two books: ''Ever Increasing Faith''<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.worldinvisible.com/library/wigglesworth/5f00.0930/5f00.0930.c.htm|title=Ever Increasing Faith|last=Wigglesworth|first=Smith|date=1924|website=www.worldinvisible.com|publisher=GOSPEL PUBLISHING HOUSE|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021201100417/http://www.worldinvisible.com/library/wigglesworth/5f00.0930/5f00.0930.c.htm|archive-date=2002-12-01|url-status=dead|access-date=2018-01-25}}</ref><ref>[http://www.spiritoffire.org/downloads/Ever%20Increasing%20Faith.pdf ''Ever Increasing Faith''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030716184047/http://spiritoffire.org/downloads/Ever%20Increasing%20Faith.pdf |date=2003-07-16 }}, (PDF) 1924. Zao Ministries International</ref> and ''Faith that Prevails''.<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://www.evangelo.org/biblioteca/Faith_That_Prevails.pdf|title=Faith That Prevails|last=Wigglesworth|first=Smith|year=1938}}</ref>

He continued to minister until the time of his death on 12 March 1947.<ref name="Stormont">{{cite book |last1=Stormont |first1=George |title=Smith Wigglesworth : a living classic : a man who walked with God |date=15 June 2009 |publisher=Harrison House Publishers |isbn=978-1577949756}}</ref>
{{clear}}

==Healing==
{{Moresources|section|date=January 2023}}
There were numerous claims of divine healing during Wigglesworth's ministry.<ref>{{Cite book|title=God's Generals|last=Liardon|first=Roberts|date=1996|publisher=Whitaker House|isbn=978-0-88368-944-8|pages=204–205|language=en}}</ref> These include a woman healed of a tumor, a woman healed of tuberculosis, a wheelchair-confined woman walking, and many more.<ref>{{Cite book|title=God's Generals|last=Liardon|first=Roberts|date=1996|publisher=Whitaker House|isbn=978-0-88368-944-8|pages=204–224|language=en}}</ref> There were reports that people were raised from the dead, including his wife Polly.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OtoIAAAACAAJ|title=Real Smith Wigglesworth, The: The Life and Faith of the Legendary Evangelist|last=Cartwright|first=Desmond|date=2003-06-01|publisher=Baker Publishing Group|isbn=9780800793357|language=en}}</ref>

Many people said they were cured of cancer by Jesus Christ through him. Wigglesworth described cancer as "a living evil spirit", and insisted that many diseases were "Satanic in origin".<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=e2RWZpOHfmoC|title=Wigglesworth: The Complete Story: A New Biography on the Apostle of Faith Smith Wigglesworth|last=Julian|first=Wilson|date=2004|publisher=Authentic Media|isbn=9781932805147|pages=120|language=en}}</ref> 

His methods often involved hitting, slapping, or punching the afflicted part of the body. On a number of occasions his approach to persons suffering from stomach complaints was to punch them in the stomach, sometimes with such force that it propelled them across the room. When challenged on this, his response was "I don't hit them, I hit the devil". 
<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hibbert |first=Albert |title=Smith Wigglesworth: The Secret of His Power |publisher=Harrison House |year=1982 |isbn=9780892742110 |location=Tulsa |pages=12}}</ref> 

Responding to criticism over his method of praying for the sick, Wigglesworth stated: "You might think by the way I went about praying for the sick that I was sometimes unloving and rough, but oh, friends, you have no idea what I see behind the sickness and the one who is afflicted. I am not dealing with the person; I am dealing with the satanic forces that are binding the afflicted". {{cn|date=January 2023}}

On one occasion Wigglesworth declared to the sick "I'll only pray for you once, to pray twice is unbelief". The second night, a man approached the altar to receive prayer again and Wigglesworth, recognizing him, said "Didn't I pray for you last night? You are full of unbelief, get off this platform!"<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=e2RWZpOHfmoC|title=Wigglesworth: The Complete Story: A New Biography on the Apostle of Faith Smith Wigglesworth|last=Julian|first=Wilson|date=2004|publisher=Authentic Media|isbn=9781932805147|pages=82–83|language=en}}</ref>

He died at the funeral of his close friend, Wilf Richardson, on 12 March 1947, at the age of 87.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Shilling |first=Erik |date=2016-11-18 |title=The Unverifiable Legend of the Early-20th-Century Preacher Who Raised 14 People From the Dead |language=en-US |work=Slate |url=https://slate.com/human-interest/2016/11/the-unverifiable-legend-of-smith-wigglesworth-the-early-20th-century-preacher-who-raised-14-people-from-the-dead.html |access-date=2023-02-28 |issn=1091-2339}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Biography of Smith Wigglesworth |url=https://healingandrevival.com/BioSWigglesworth.htm |access-date=2023-02-28 |website=healingandrevival.com}}</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

== Further reading ==
* {{cite web | last = Bickle | first = Michael | title = Smith Wigglesworth Biography | url = http://www.mklangl.com/wigglesworthrbio.html  | access-date = 2006-05-18 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060518010249/http://www.mklangl.com/wigglesworthrbio.html |archive-date = 2006-05-18}} <!-- This website, as of 2006-12-13, is dead. Changed the link to the article in the Web Archive. -->
* {{cite book | last = Wigglesworth | first = Smith | title = Ever Increasing Faith | publisher = Gospel Publishing House | year = 1924 | location = Springfield, MO | url = http://www.worldinvisible.com/library/wigglesworth/5f00.0930/5f00.0930.c.htm | access-date = 2006-12-13}}
*Hibbert, Albert. (1982) ''Smith Wigglesworth: The Secret of His Power''. Harrison House: Tulsa, Oklahoma.
*Robinson, James (2013). ''Divine Healing''. Pickwick Publications: Eugene, Oregon., p. 98-104.
*Robinson, James (2014). ''Divine Healing - The Years of Expansion, 1906-1930''. Pickwick Publications: Eugene, Oregon., p. 129-160.

== External links ==
{{Wikiquote}}
* [http://www.smithwigglesworth.com Smith Wigglesworth]; Website with a comprehensive array of sermons, histories and reports
* McGee, Gary B. [http://enrichmentjournal.ag.org/199801/070_wigglesworth.cfm "The Revival Legacy of Smith Wigglesworth."] [[Assemblies of God USA]] Enrichment Journal
* [http://smithwigglesworth.blogspot.com/ The Smith Wigglesworth Blog]; sermons by Wigglesworth
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wigglesworth, Smith}}
[[Category:1859 births]]
[[Category:1947 deaths]]
[[Category:Faith healers]]
[[Category:British evangelicals]]
[[Category:Evangelists]]
[[Category:People from Menston]]
[[Category:British Pentecostals]]