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T H E K I N G ' S - B U S I N E S S
January, 1936
o f his heart, and when Dr. Torrey “ fell on sleep,” there was left behind him an ineffaceable memory of a humble, consistent man of God who ever subordinated his great in tellectual gifts to the whole-hearted and loyal following of his divine Master in paths o f lowly obedience and consistent holiness.
A G O D L Y AN C E ST R Y In 1600, William Torrey, of Waymouth, founder of the Torrey family in this country, wrote a work (published in 1757), called A Brief Discourse Concerning Futurities, which is one of the very finest treatises of prophetical truths published in Colonial America. Dr. Torrey descends from this strong Christian layman in the ninth generation.
Dr. Torrey as a COUNSELOR B y A. B. PRICHARD
faithfulness to personal soul-winning and to the ministry of intercession was a lesson to us all. In later years when the work my husband and I were doing for Belgian soldiers was in full stride and our financial needs were great, this friend stood loyally by us in prayer.*We were often invited to speak at the Montrose Bible Conference. On one such occasion, I think in 1917, when we were needing $100,000 1 / for Christmas boxes for the front and an unusual supply o f Gospels and New Testaments for distribution, Dr. Torrey went to public prayer on behalf o f our needs. And our amazement at his temerity almost overcame us, when, without arguing with God over the validity o f our claim to this huge amount, he simply exclaimed, “ W e thank Thee, O God, that Thou art going to give Ralph and Edith this $100,000 that they are needing.” And that faith was hon ored of the Lord, and that sum in its entirety was received before the year’s end.* T he M an at H eart Dr. Torrey’s manner was at times abrupt and not always conciliatory, but oftentimes this was but the sheath which concealed his real timidity. He might have been considered, at times, too sure of himself— too uncompro mising—but let it be recalled that he had been an atheist- in his. youth—with but one breath between him and suicide. So his positiveness sprang from convictions deep as his very life .''H is home life was the true expression o f his deep? piety, and was more than ordinarily fragrant and beautiful.^ * He was adored by his four children, and he was forgiving-x; ly proud o f the fact that they rendered him implicit obedi ence. No laxity was permitted in their conduct, but as often as the father denied them something not for their good, some other thing, recreation, or privilege was found to replace the forbidden thing, and Dr. Torrey always added the delightful ingredient of his own ardent partici pation in their interests and play.' When I became a youthful visitor in his home, my im pression as to his austerity rapidly melted away as I wit nessed the charming home life o f which he was the center. One day my husband said to the only son, Reuben, then a boy o f ten, “ Aren’t you ever afraid o f your father?” This question arose perhaps because o f his knowledge o f the strict discipline manifested in the home life, as well as in^ the Institute classroom. “ A fraid?” responded Reuben, blue eyes opened wide. “ Why no, o f course n o t; he is my father!” Dr. Torrey’s humility of spirit was true and deep, and his willingness to learn from others was remarkable— even when such teachers were vastly inferior to himself. One day I had been speaking at the Bible conference at Mont rose— and I suppose I spoke feelingly o f my personal long ing to “ finish my course with joy,” and to remain “ steady until the going down o f the sun.” The next morning Dr. Torrey said to me, “ Edith, I could not sleep all night for thinking of what you said. Oh, may God cause me also to be faithful to the end.” And God granted him the desire
For such men as A . B. Prichard, whose faithful service fo r the Lord had a vital part in the beginning o f the Bible Institute of Los Angeles, the Christian public should forever be grateful. Dr. Prichard is living in Pasadena, California. M y p e r s o n a l acquaintance with R. A . Torrey began in 1901, when I visited the Moody Bible Institute in Chicago for the first time. I was there for a purpose. Mr. Lyman Stewart and I had had many conferences regarding the desirability of establishing a Bible Institute in Los An geles, and a small group of us had already effected an organ ization, and applied for incorporation. Classes were being conducted in several places in Los Angeles, and a number o f activities appropriate as adjuncts to a Bible Institute had been put into effect. The publication o f the Under scored New Testament, so well known in connection with the Bible House o f Los Angeles, had been begun, and it was hoped that definite student training might begin in the fall o f that year. In preparation for this work, I was per mitted to visit eight or nine enterprises of similar aim throughout the East. I went to Chicago with letters of introduction to Dr. Torrey, with a view to learning what5 ever might be of value in the undertaking o f work o f this nature in Los Angeles. Arriving at the Institute offices, I found Dr. Torrey ex ceedingly cordial to my purposes and gracious to me per sonally. I ate at the same .table with him in the Institute dining room each day that I was there, and I conferred with him frequently. He afforded me every opportunity to see the inside functioning o f the great enterprise under his care, and I always prized his cooperation and, as far as possible under differing conditions, I made full use o f his valuable suggestions. I was a member o f the Board o f Directors o f the Bible 1 Institute o f Los Angeles at the time that Dr. Torrey was invited to become Dean, and was one to welcome him to this position. In addition to his duties in connection with the Bible Institute, Dr. Torrey served on a great variety o f com mittees and councils, and in several o f these I had the priv ilege o f sharing the duty with him. He was in every way a man o f affairs. He had a comprehensive grasp o f the interests involved. He knew men. Above all, he knew God, and the gospel was ever foremost in his thought. Dr. Torrey was a man of clear-cut views o f truth, with convictions forged out upon the anvil o f personal experi ence in conflict with manifold forms o f error. He believed absolutely in the divine origin and authority o f the Bible. I recall remarking one day to him, “ Doctor, you believe the Bible from cover to cover,” to which he immediately re sponded, “ No, only from Genesis to Revelation.” That allowed for no human additions. *' Dr. Torrey was as great as an administrator as he was as a preacher and teacher. Very often men who are fully capable in other respects, fail as executives, but Dr. Torrey [Continued on page 16]
“ You can’t have your own way— unless you make God’s way your way.”— Torrey.
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