Reading the Bible
Title
Reading the Bible
Creator
Wilson, Woodrow, 1856-1924
Identifier
WWP15048
Date
1917 July 23
Description
Woodrow Wilson's statement on reading the Bible to the Scripture Gift Society.
Source
Gilder Lehrman Collection, New York Historical Society, New York
Subject
Bible
Contributor
Daniels, Josephus, 1862-1948
Relation
WWP22619
Language
English
Text
(Statement prepared by the President for transmission, through Secretary Daniels, to Mr. Robert B. Haines Jr., Secretary of the Scripture Gift Mission, July 23, 1917).
The Bible is the word of life. I beg that you will read it and find this out for yourselves, – read, not little snatches here and there, but long passages that will really be the road to the heart of it. You will find it full of real men and women not only, but also of the things you have wondered about and been troubled about all your life, as men have been always; and the more you read the more it will become plain to you what things are worth while and what are not, what things make men happy, – loyalty, right dealing, speaking the truth, readiness to give everything for what they think their duty, and, most of all, the wish that they may have the approval of the Christ, who gave everything for them, – and the things that are guaranteed to make men unhappy, – selfishness, cowardice, greed, and everything that is low and mean. When you have read the Bible you will know that it is the Word of God, because you will have found it the key to your own heart, your own happiness, and your own duty.
The Bible is the word of life. I beg that you will read it and find this out for yourselves, – read, not little snatches here and there, but long passages that will really be the road to the heart of it. You will find it full of real men and women not only, but also of the things you have wondered about and been troubled about all your life, as men have been always; and the more you read the more it will become plain to you what things are worth while and what are not, what things make men happy, – loyalty, right dealing, speaking the truth, readiness to give everything for what they think their duty, and, most of all, the wish that they may have the approval of the Christ, who gave everything for them, – and the things that are guaranteed to make men unhappy, – selfishness, cowardice, greed, and everything that is low and mean. When you have read the Bible you will know that it is the Word of God, because you will have found it the key to your own heart, your own happiness, and your own duty.
Original Format
Miscellaneous
To
Scripture Gift Society
Citation
Wilson, Woodrow, 1856-1924, “Reading the Bible,” 1917 July 23, WWP15048, Gilder-Lehrman Institute for American History Woodrow Wilson Documents, Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library & Museum, Staunton, Virginia.