When we think of Mr. Moody, some of us immediately picture him preaching the gospel to thousands in a jammed auditorium. Others may see him working among the wounded during the Civil War. Some may conjure up the young Moody surrounded by children in his Sunday School. Many will think of him riding in a horse-drawn cart among the buildings of his schools in the rolling hills of Northfield. For some, Moody is framed by the bustling masses of Chicago with its great stockyards and factories. Still, others think of Moody in his role in forming Christian publishing.
While these are all accurate and catch a sense of the man, it is easy to forget Mr. Moody was a father. Moody and his wife would have three children: Emma, William, and Paul. The archives at Moody Center contain numerous letters to his children. In them, we see Mr. Moody’s heart for his children as well as his hopes and fears.
In 1885, Moody wrote to his son William. The letter illustrates Moody as a father. It is written from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, as he is traveling. He asks about things around their home. He describes sights from the Civil War and what he hopes to share with his son when he gets home. He also talks of loneliness and even being homesick. But towards the end, the letter takes a turn. It is almost as if Moody feels compelled to share his hopes for his son.
Mr. Moody asks William if he likes his new Sunday School teacher and then shares his dreams for William. Here we see Mr. Moody’s heart. He writes;
I hope you will grow up to love the Bible. . . I would like to say of you as Paul did of Timothy that from your youth you have known the scripture for it is able to make you wise. . .
God bless you & keep you from sin
in the prayer of your loving Father
DL Moody
Dwight Moody’s deepest desire for his son was not financial success or fame. It was not that he live a long, healthy life with a large, happy family but that he be a man of the scriptures.
I read this letter as a father. Many of you who read this have children. We have hopes and dreams for our children. Mr. Moody’s letter was a challenge to me. What would I like to say about my children some day? What do I pray for them? Let us all pray that our sons and daughters would grow to be mighty in the scriptures.
Written by Greg Quiggle
This is an updated edition of a post originally published on Moody Center.
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About the Author
For more than a decade, James served in academic leadership within biblical higher education. He currently serves as President of the D. L. Moody Center, an independent non-profit organization in Northfield, MA, dedicated to honoring the spiritual legacy of D.L. Moody.
James serves on faculty at Right On Mission and as a consultant for Christian colleges and seminaries in the areas of leadership development, online programming, and enrollment management. He also teaches as an adjunct instructor at the collegiate and graduate level in the areas of biblical studies, interpretation, and Christian thought.
James graduated with his B.S in Kinesiology from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 2000 before earning his Master of Divinity from Moody Theological Seminary (2004), his M. A. in Biblical Exegesis from Wheaton College Graduate School (2005), and his PhD in Theological Studies-Old Testament from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (2012). He later attended the Harvard Institute of Education Management and completed a year of executive coaching.
James researches and writes in the areas of theology and Old Testament Studies. Useful to God: Eight Lessons from the Life of D. L. Moody was published in 2021. He also published Thinking Christian: Essays on Testimony, Accountability, and the Christian Mind in 2020 and co-authored Trajectories: A Gospel-Centered Introduction to Old Testament Theology in 2018. James also co-authored "Isaiah" with Michael Rydelnik in the Moody Bible Commentary and contributed to Marriage: It's Foundation, Theology, and Mission in a Changing World, and The Moody Handbook of Messianic Prophecy.In addition to writing on theology and Old Testament studies, James has also published and presented in the areas of online curriculum design, higher education policy, organizational strategies for higher education recruitment, and Christian leadership.
James and his family live in the Chicagoland area. He is available to speak in the areas of Christian leadership, Christian theology and contemporary issues, Christian identity in the digital age, biblical higher education and college choice, and Old Testament theology.
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