£ CHURCH OF THE NAZARENE / MAY 1, ,1985 Nazarene Family Week May 5-12 A N • E D TOR A AN OLD-TIME MOTHER by General Superintendent Charles H. Strickland MONG THE FAMOUS WOMEN of the Old Testa­ a man child, then I will give him unto the Lord all the days ment, the story of Hannah continues to have sig­ of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head.” A nificant meaning. This is especially true as we pay spe­God answered her prayer, and she bore a son and cial honor to our most beloved citizens at this time— our called him Samuel (“God hears”). When he was weaned mothers. Her story is recorded in the opening chapters she brought Samuel to the Tabernacle to be trained by of First Samuel. Hannah was one of the two wives of Eli, the old priest. The 28th verse of chapter 1 records Elkanah, an Ephraimite who lived at Ramathaim-zophim. her dedication: “Therefore also I have lent him to the She accompanied her husband each year to Shiloh Lord; as long as he liveth he shall be lent to the Lord... where the tabernacle was located and where they of­ Hannah was a devoted mother. She had other children fered annual sacrifices. Hannah was childless. On these later but never neglected Samuel. Chapter 2, verse 19, visits she spent her time at the altar praying for a male records, “Moreover his mother made him a little coat, child whom she promised to dedicate to the Lord. and brought it to him from year to year, when she came up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice.” The We would characterize Hannah as an old-time mother. world honors her, remembering that her son grew to She had a deep conviction that womanhood’s greatest become the great prophet, Samuel, whose powerful in­ achievement and happiest fulfillment is the role of moth­ fluence led Israel through a turbulent era of history. erhood. This ancient belief has carried through the cen­ Our society today has imposed upon modern woman­ turies, and even today we pay worthy tribute to the role hood many new responsibilities and changing roles out­ of motherhood by setting aside a day to honor our side the home. Many have entered the marketplace; oth­ mothers. ers have distinguished themselves in professional The beautiful prayer and dedication of Hannah is careers. Many have the difficult careers of dual roles in recorded in 1 Samuel 1:11, “And she vowed a vow, and motherhood and business. said, O Lord of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the We salute the women of our beloved church through­ affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me, and not out the world— especially in your most important and forget thine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid fulfilling role, motherhood. □ by MELVIN G. WILLIAMS Mama Larkin A REMARKABLE WOMAN Y RECOLLECTIONS of Bessie Bonsall the Church of the Nazarene. Fortunately, though, her Larkin—my great-grandmother—are fuz­ personal journal survives—a small leather-bound vol­ zy at best. In the memories of my early ume that records two of the most significant events of childhood there remains little more than a her life: receiving the blessing of holiness and accept­ stern, gray-haired old lady whose dark dresses were ing the call to the evangelistic ministry. unfashionably long and whose shoes had square heels The ink has turned brown on the small lined pages, and laces up the front. To me and to the rest of her but her firm handwriting is still clear. Under the head­ family she was Mama. ing of February 18, 1897, she has written: Only within the last year have I begun to create J. Wilbur Chapman preached at the Third Annual other images of her—images that came first out of a Convention of the N.J. Conference Epworth League, few newspaper clippings and later out of a battered Burlington, N.J. Text—Acts 2:4— “filled with the shoe box labeled “Mother’s things.” In the process I am Holy Ghost.’’ I sought and found this beautiful experi­ beginning to appreciate how remarkable a woman she ence on March 4th, 1897, after much thought and was. earnest prayer with full consecration. She was a lovely and talented young woman who was As if to confirm it, she signed her name underneath. ordained to the Christian ministry as “an Elder . Across the page, but added three years later are according to the rules of the Pentecostal Church of the these further testimonies: Nazarene,” in a small church in Harrington, Del., in July 1902 at the Mt. Lake Park Campmeeting on a 1908. Tuesday afternoon God call fed] me to the evangelistic She was a dedicated minister who, two years later in work. The following Sunday morning I preached my 1910, was authorized to be an evangelist in “the place first sermon in the Wayne Ave. & Berkeley St. Evan­ where God can use her.” gelical Church [in Philadelphia], Rev. James D. She was a tireless city missionary who preached in Acker—pastor. From the text Deu. 32-11-12. the hall of a carpet mill in Washington, under the tent From that same old box I took a yellowed and crum­ of a camp meeting in Virginia, and in churches from bling newspaper clipping, with no date, of revival ser­ New England to Florida. vices at the Primitive Methodist Church in Shamokin, She later became an ordained evangelist in the Pa., which reports “ 164 converts,” along with these Methodist Episcopal church and was to be acclaimed observations: as “a female Billy Sunday.” Rev. Larkin has brought simple, timely messages Amid the brief glimpses, some facts are clear. Bessie from the old Book throughout the entire campaign. Bonsall was born near Philadelphia in 1871 of Quaker All who have heard her have learned to love her and parents, whose roots went back to William Penn and her gentle manner in preaching has been the means of before that to England. She married Milton Larkin, bringing many to seek Christ. also of Quaker lineage, and they lived for a while in Too much cannot be said of the work of the evan­ Philadelphia. Their one daughter, Miriam, was my gelist, Mrs. Larkin. She was faithful to the end in the mother’s mother. discharge of her duties in bringing the old time gospel Apparently no records exist to reveal what brought messages and dealing with the unsaved. her into the pentecostal fellowship that was to become Regrettably, much of her life is now lost. But out of the collage of a few clippings and letters and photo­ MELVIN G. WILLIAMS Is the minister of visitation at First graphs have emerged the outlines, at least, of a remark­ Congregational Church in Bloomfield, Connecticut. able woman. MAY 1, 1985 3 HERALD “ HOLINESS Bible Quotations in this issue: W. E. McCUMBER, Editor in Chief Unidentified quotations are from the KJV. Quotations from the following translations IVAN A. BEALS, Office Editor are used by permission: MABEL ADAMSON, Editorial Assistant (NIV) From The Holy Bible, New International Version, copyright © 1978, by New York International Bible Society. rnnrnhutinn I V. H. LEWIS • EUGENE L. STOWE FHifnrc ORVILLE W. JENKINS • CHARLES H. STRICKLAND to ito rs . | W |LUAM M GREATHOUSE • JERALD D. JOHNSON General Superintendents, Church of the Nazarene HERALD OF HOLINESS (USPS 241 -440) is published semimonthly by NAZARENE PUBLISHING HOUSE, 2923 TROOST AVE., KANSAS CITY, MO 64109. Editorial offices at 6401 The Paseo, Kansas City, MO 64131. Address all correspondence concerning subscriptions to Nazarene Cover Photo: by H. Armstrong Roberts Publishing House, P.O. Box 527, Kansas City, MO 64141. Copyright 1985 by Nazarene Publishing House POSTMASTER: Please send change of address to Herald of Holiness, P.O. Box 527, Kansas City. MO 64141 SUBSCRIPTION PRICE: $6.50 per year. Second-class postage paid in Volume 74, Number 9 May 1, 1985 Whole Number 3421 Kansas City, Mo. Litho in U.S.A. IN THIS ISSUE AN OLD-TIME MOTHER ...........................................................2 WHAT CAN THE RIGHTEOUS DO?.......................................12 General Superintendent Charles H. Strickland Paul A. Tanner MAMA LARKIN, A REMARKABLE W OM AN........................ 3 BUILD A FAMILY FORTRESS................................................. 14 Melvin G. Williams Ivan A. Beals LETTERS....................................................................................... 4 INTO YOUR H O U SE..................................................................15 WHEN MOTHER PLAYED THE ORGAN................................ 5 Poem Bonnie Robbins Benedix M ary E. Latham COMMUNISM PAID US A COMPLIMENT.............................16 A MOTHER’S PRAYER...............................................................6 Ray Hendrix Poem Charlotte Carpenter SINGLE AGAIN: SURVIVAL KIT FOR THE HOME IN THE MORNING.........................................................6 DIVORCED AND W IDOW ED................................................... 17 Helen F. Roth well Book Brief Stephen M. Miller, editor WHATEVER HAPPENED TO DEATH?.................................... 7 THE EDITOR’S STANDPOINT................................................. 18 Harry A. Rich W. E. M cCum ber MAINTAINING OUR MESSAGE AND MISSION.................... 8 BY ALL MEANS..........................................................................20 General Superintendent William M. Greathouse Just in Time Orville H. Swanson WONDROUS POTENTIAL— THAT’S BOBBY........................ 9 IN THE NEWS ............................................................................21 Randall G. Wright NEWS OF RELIGION............................................................... 30 THE GENERATION LIN K .........................................................10 Neil Hightower ANSWER CORNER..................................................................