Moody, Dwight Lyman (1837-1899)
Dwight Lyman Moody (5 February 1837-22 December 1899) was the leading evangelist of American Protestantism in the 19th century (beginning in 1870), whose work was of immeasurable influence upon American religious life. He was also the founder of the Northfield School at Northfield, Massachussets (1879, 1881), and of Moody Bible Institute at Chicago, Illinois (1886), the finances for which came from the enormous profits of the song-books which he and Ira Sankey published (Gospel Hymns, etc., over $1,250,000 in royalties).
Moody's revivalistic work indirectly influenced the Mennonites of North America, particularly the more English-speaking Mennonite Church (MC). The Moody Bible Institute has had considerable influence on Mennonites through the attendance of Mennonite students from about 1895 on, through its publication, the Moody Monthly, and through its radio programs (WMBI) and the summer Bible conferences which it sponsored throughout the country.
A major source of Moody's influence on the Mennonite Church (MC) was through John F. Funk. Funk became acquainted with Moody in 1861 when they were fellow teachers at the Milwaukee Depot Mission Sunday School. They were close friends for several years. Funk regarded highly his association with Moody, and records in his unpublished memoirs that he owed to Moody the vision of better things in the Mennonite Church, including Sunday schools, young people's meetings, and evangelism. He described to a friend Moody's influence by saying that Moody was so full of religious enthusiasm that one could not help being moved or drawn by him into a blessed religious experience. Without doubt, a significant contribution to the Great Awakening in the Mennonite Church (MC) in 1875-1900 was Moody's indirect influence in various ways, especially through Funk.
Bibliography
Day, Richard. Bush Aglow; the Life Story of D. L. Moody. Philadelphia, 1936.
Moody, W. R. D. L. Moody. New York, 1900, 1930.
| Author(s) | Harold S Bender |
|---|---|
| Date Published | 1957 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Bender, Harold S. "Moody, Dwight Lyman (1837-1899)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1957. Web. 19 Apr 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Moody,_Dwight_Lyman_(1837-1899)&oldid=90145.
APA style
Bender, Harold S. (1957). Moody, Dwight Lyman (1837-1899). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 19 April 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Moody,_Dwight_Lyman_(1837-1899)&oldid=90145.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 3, p. 747. All rights reserved.
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